It's Always been us All
by GOTD
Summary: Naruto finds out that Sasuke and Sakura have been doing something disturbing for a while. The blonde cant help but feel left out… SasukeNarutoSakura
1. Its Always Been Us All

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the anime Naruto. And I am not jappanesse, I am Mexican… so that should say lot's about whether or not I have money. Yeah…

AN: Okay, so I know lot's of people are thrown off by a team seven threesome. But yeah, that's what this is going to EVENTUALLY be. I hope you guys will enjoy this; I assure you this is my FIRST attempt at even trying something like this… but give it a chance. It won't be SO horribly bad, promise. It's slightly AU, but not too bad… most of everything is still in order. Urm… and I can't think of anything else, so have fun guys!

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Chapter One- What the fuck?

Naruto left Ichiraku's ramen bar with an aching stomach. He probably shouldn't have eaten that seventh bowl; but he couldn't help it… The stuff was too good, and the only bad thing that Naruto could find about it, was that every time he went to Teuchi's place, he was always a whole wallet of money empty! Snorting at the thought that he was getting Teuchi and Ayame richer every week, he decided that from now on he would stick to home made ramen more often.

Walking towards his apartment, Naruto thought about the upcoming mission that Tsunade had assigned to him and Kiba. Why the old hag had paired him with that dog, was beyond him. Though she _had_ said something about their abilities being perfect for this mission...? Whatever the hell her reason was, he groaned at the thought of having to spend all those days alone with Kiba in that forest. No matter how much Sakura tried to say that he was just imagining things... He swore to _god_ that Kiba smelled like dogs! Why would he make such a thing up anyway? Besides, it _was_ logical, wasn't it? Kiba _did_ live in a mansion full of dogs!

Shaking his head at how dull Sakura could be at times, his mind once again wondered onto the mission that would have him out of Konoha by the end of the week. He was to go to the Village of Bears (Which was located in the Land of Fire) and escort a feudal Lord's daughter to the Sun Village. Then at the Sun Village, he would have to escort the nephew of the same Lord back to the Bear Village. That would take about two weeks— Three tops— Depending on the weather, and how fast or slow the guy and girl could travel. Though being stuck with the dog man, everything would probably go wrong anyways.

Reaching his apartment, Naruto looked at the rusty old building that was on the verge of falling down. He owed rent money; so he needed this mission to be a complete success— he would _make_ it be a complete success. Giving the building another look over, he decided that he didn't want to be in that thing just yet, so instead, he opted to go searching for Sasuke to give the raven haired boy a head ache. The jerk might even let him spend the night...

* * *

Reaching the Uchiha mansion, Naruto quietly let himself into the main house. Complete darkness encased him as he walked the path blindly to Sasuke's room. Hopefully Sasuke wasn't asleep... He'd have to leave if the teme was asleep. He didn't want to wake up in the morning with a cold bucket of water being splashed on his face— having to hear the complaints of an angered Sasuke talking about how he shouldn't be sneaking into people's houses and making himself at home. He had learned his lesson the last time that _that_ had happened. 

Naruto stopped shortly from the Uchiha's room... There were definitely some _weird_ noises coming from inside of there. Tip-toeing his way closer to the room, trying to make as little noise as possible, the blonde was surprised that he heard a female voice. Though what shocked him the most was what that female voice was saying!

"Sasuke-kun! Ohhh... Yeah! Sa-sss..u...ke!"

_What the hell?!_

The blonde completely forgot about trying to be discrete, and instead he opened the door to the sight of his lifetime infatuation humping his rival. His eyes widened as Sakura bent over and Naruto could only assume that Sasuke was kissing her. He felt a small tug on his heart as he watched Sasuke's hands travel to give Sakura's ass a squeeze. He couldn't believe this... This was so wrong! This wasn't how things were supposed to be! Sakura was supposed to be _his_, not Sasuke's... And Sasuke... Sasuke was his too!! How could they be doing this behind his back?!

Deciding that the sight was too painful to keep on watching, he walked out of the room and slammed the door. He knew that he had done that partially to freak out the loving couple a little bit, maybe even get them to stop, but he couldn't help it. He went down the stairs into the first level of the main house. Knowing that all the windows would be locked, he hurriedly walked to the door; hoping that he'd make it out before Sasuke caught him and beat him up for walking in on such a thing.

"Naruto!" The loud screech hurt his ears and he had fully planned on ignoring her, but his senses told him that he was in danger. So, turning to his right sharply, Naruto barely missed a kunai that had been aimed to kill. Looking up with angered eyes, the blonde met Sasuke's black orbs. The Uchiha looked pissed... but he didn't care. They had _no_ right to do such things in the first place! And hey, at least he had tried to give them their privacy afterwards, right? Shouldn't he be the one trying to kill them?! _Sasuke was supposed to be his best friend…!!!_

"What the hell do you think you're doing, dobe?!" Okay, so Sasuke sounded more than a little pissed— he was furious. But Naruto didn't feel up to this right now. He had just seen his best friend screw the girl that he'd been crushing on for most of his life... He really didn't want to talk about it.

"You fucking pervert Naruto! How dare you?! Tell me, you baka, exactly what part of your brain is screwed?!" Seriously though, Sakura didn't have to say such harsh stuff— especially when it was _her_ that did him wrong. It honestly did hurt... it hurt him _bad_. If things kept going like this, he was sure he was going to end up crying.

He had to get out of there. He never should have gone there in the first place. He should have gone into his run down apartment and he should have stayed there! He should have slept in the cold! Anything would have been better than this... Whatever the hell this was! "Haven't I told you not to fucking sneak into my home, you idiot?!" Sasuke hissed, and he could sense the killing intent that was surrounding his rival tightly. To say that Naruto was scared was an understatement.

"I'm sorry guys... I didn't... I didn't know..." It wasn't a good excuse, and he knew that, but it was all he had. It wasn't as if he could think clearly right now anyway— for god's sake, he had just seen them fuck!!! Didn't he at least get a few days to come up with an explanation and get the painful picture out of his mind?! Right now all he could hear were Sasuke's pants, and Sakura's moans of pleasure... _By all rights, he should have been there..._

"Naruto!!! You fucking pervert! I'm going to kill you!!!" He let his eyes travel to a running Sakura in a black robe. He assumed the robe was Sasuke's, but he had no time to think about it because if Sakura got a hold of him, he was sure he would get a few bruises. So, deciding that he didn't want to be here anymore than they wanted him here; he made a dash towards the door— and leaping onto the roof of one of the smaller Uchiha homes, Naruto prayed that he could make it to his apartment alive.

* * *

Naruto scowled at Kakashi. The man had been harassing him all day, demanding to know what it was that had him brooding. And he honestly would've told his old sensei what his problem was, if it wasn't for the fact that if he did so, he had to tell the hentai that Sakura and Sasuke had been humping! He was almost positive that _that_ picture would give Kakashi-sensei something to do at night. 

Glaring at the silver haired man, Naruto continued to eat his ramen. Hopefully the man would get the hint and leave him the hell alone. He had to leave for his mission today with Kiba, and he hoped to get some alone time to just think things out.

"You know Naruto... If you don't tell me, I might just have to tell Tsunade-sama that I don't think you're up to the job. You do seem a little distracted to me... You might even have to wait a few months until your next mission." _Now _the pervert had his attention! Kakashi couldn't do that to him! That was just... wrong! He had bills to pay, and he had to get away from Konoha for a while! The people here were driving him crazy! Between the normal rude stares that the villagers would throw at him on a regular basis, and the now 'evil glares' that his supposed best friends seemed to be keen on shooting his way every time that he was around, Naruto felt as if though he was going to explode! And to top it all off, the rest of the rookie nine seemed to enjoy piling question after question on top of him! What the fuck was their problem?!

No, he had to get away from the village, and Kakashi was _not_ going to ruin it for him. "I got into a fight with Sasuke and Sakura... You're nosy, old man. Are you happy now?" And he knew that Kakashi was indeed NOT happy at all. If anything, his sensei's curiosity should have sparked even more. "That's what's been up with me lately... and that's all you're going to get." The hell if he was going to go as low as Kakashi's level.

For a second, the blonde thought that that had done it. His old sensei just stared at him, as if though he were trying to figure out if it was a lie. "Well, that does explain why the training grounds haven't been destroyed lately. And that also explains why Sakura seems much less annoyed all the time... What happened between the three of you?" His sensei smirked at the growl that erupted from his throat. The man was not supposed to make him feel worse!

"Kakashi-sensei, with all respect intended..." Naruto smirked, standing up from the stool he had been perched on only moments ago enjoying his ramen. Kakashi's only visible eye turned into a straight line as the older man tensed. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto made the hand seals and suddenly there were about thirty Naruto's in the ramen shop. About twenty attacked his old sensei and he had the other ten leave the ramen shop, all in different directions, as he headed towards the Hokage tower to report to Tsunade. **That** should keep Kakashi busy for a while.

* * *

"Everything seems in order, no changes have been made. Any questions?" Tsunade asked while looking through a stack of papers. "Tsunade-sama, do you have any pictures of our clients, or their names?" Naruto watched as Kiba fed a dog treat to Akamaru, who was currently slobbering all over the dog man's hair. "That's a good question, Kiba. And here it is!" The old hag picked up a paper as if though she had won some sort of victory and gave them a scary smile. "I guess I should probably clean all of this mess..." The smile disappeared with the thought of having to clean her desk, which was mounted with mountains of paper work. 

"Anyways, here is your client's information along with a picture of both his daughter and nephew." Tsunade looked over at Naruto and raised an eyebrow, "Why so quiet, brat?" Naruto rolled his eyes... Why the hell was everyone on his case? First they tell him to shut the hell up, and then when he does, everyone asks WHY?! He could swear that they all had brain damage or something. "Nothing, old hag. Can we go now?" Though he knew that he didn't sound as enthusiastic as he usually did. Honestly... He felt a little weird leaving without settling things with Sasuke or Sakura. He would be gone for about two weeks, three if the weather got tuff, and even though he _had_ been avoiding them, now he sort of wanted to talk to them.

"Yeah, yeah, you're free to go. Be careful," The hag looked at him with meaningful eyes, and then gave Kiba the papers he could only assume held the information. Kiba stood and gave a curt bow before walking out the door. "Tsunade-baba, don't let Kakashi-sensei persuade you, alright?" She looked at him, both her eyebrows reaching up to her hair line. "Is something wrong, Naruto?" He sighed and thought of telling her the details for less than a second. "No, Kakashi is just nosy and likes to interfere in other peoples business. I am perfectly fine." He had no doubt in his mind that Kakashi would bring his worries to Tsunade. His sensei had given Sasuke much more trouble for even less then this before. Apparently the man was under the impression that if they were distracted on the mission, they could compromise the lives of their clients and that of their own.

But the thing was, he wanted to get away so he could _stop_ thinking about his problems... Not so he could think more about them! Kakashi sensei would just have to get over it. And if it got too out of hand, he could persuade the older man with the latest copy of Ichi Ichi Paradise... That pervert.

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AN: Well, I have nine chapters on this story. I'll post one every two weeks... for review purposes... hehe. Or maybe one a week, depends on the mood and if I remember. Alrighty then, hope you guys enjoyed this chappie! 


	2. Sakura's Fear

Chapter two- Sakura's Fear

"Sasuke..." Sakura called, trying to get her boyfriends attention back on her. It seemed that lately his mind was entirely on something else. Ever since Naruto had caught them... Well... Yeah. She knew that Sasuke did not want their relationship to get out into the open, and Naruto had to be the biggest loud mouth she knew. If the Uchiha was worried or just pissed off and brooding, she had no clue. She had to admit though; she did miss her loud mouth quite a bit- not that she'd ever admit it.

Four days. They had gone four entire days without so much as speaking to each other. And though every time he would come into the same vincity as her, she would glare or act pissy towards him, she had every intention of forgiving him the next time she saw him. Even though the idiot had screwed up big time... He was still her idiot. Besides, they needed to talk about the situation anyways. They couldn't just leave it unspoken. She and Sasuke had to warn Naruto to keep his mouth shut. She couldn't afford to loose the Uchiha thanks to that idiot. Now that she finally had claim to him, she planned on keeping it that way- even if Ino would kill her once she found out!

"We need to talk to him," Was the low reply that her lover gave. She stood up from her bed, feeling the starched fabric of Sasuke's shirt against her nude breasts. Walking over to the love of her life, Sakura wrapped her shaking arms around the black haired man. She was scared… Scared that because of this the Uchiha would want to end it all. "We have to find a way to keep the dobe from talking," Sasuke's voice held a hint of venom in it. Sakura was scared that she had missed something in the entire situation.

Sure, she had been pissed that Naruto had caught them in the act. And she had acted like a complete bitch to him because the idiot had deserved it… but she had cooled down that same day. She had lost some of that anger once she had had time to think about everything, and realize that Naruto had no way of knowing what it was that he was going to walk in on. Sasuke on the other hand… He was acting as if though he wanted to murder the blonde- and though she figured that it was normal, since they were both male- it was getting a little over board.

"You're shaking," Sasuke turned around and wrapped her in his two strong arms, and she sighed in content. "I'm sorry…" She didn't know exactly what she was apologizing for, but she felt suddenly guilty and scared that the black haired man was angry with her too. "It's not your fault, Sakura. He's the baka that came into my home uninvited. We'll just kill him if he decides to open that big mouth of his." She gave him a small smile when he cupped her cheek with one hand, allowing his thumb to caress her lips lightly…

"Ok," She sucked the thumb into her mouth, and brought the man's chest closer to her body. "Can we go back to bed now?" Walking backwards, and keeping his body against hers, whilst dragging it to the bed at the same time- Sakura shivered as her lover gave her a sadistic smirk and said, "You're going to regret that…"

Sakura walked through the busy streets of Konoha in search for her loud mouth. Usually he was the easiest to find, seeing on how you could hear him even if you were a mile away. But today things seemed to be different… She had been searching for almost an hour now, and yet there had been no sign of the blonde. She had already been to the ramen shop (no doubt that was her first stop), she had gone to Naruto's apartment, and she had even gone to Iruka-sensei's apartment. He always did seem to be there whenever he wasn't with Sasuke. But it was as if though Naruto had disappeared. He was no where to be found.

Sakura had already made up her mind to go to the Hokage Mountain next- she knew that Naruto liked that place. She didn't know why, but every time that Naruto wanted to escape to somewhere private and just think, he always ended up going there. And the pink haired girl had a sneaking suspicion that Naruto wasn't his normal self at the moment. She felt bad for ignoring him all week, and for being a bit nasty with him every time he would come near him, but she planned on rectifying her mistakes as soon as she could get a hold of him… Hopefully it wasn't too late.

The pink haired shinobi walked passed her favorite clothes store, sighing at the sign that announced a fifty percent off sale, on all items… There was no time for that though! She had to find Naruto; and she was just about to turn around and head striaght to the Hokage Mountain and do just that, when she spotted Shino and Hinata looking at some dark sun glasses.

Figuring that she had nothing to loose if she asked, Sakura walked up to them and placed on the prettiest smile she could conjure up at the moment. "Hey you guys, have either one of you seen Naruto by any chance?" Sakura watched as Shino and Hinata glanced at each other before Shino quietly responded.

"Naruto has gone on a mission with Kiba, he will probably be back in about two weeks." Apparently Shino thought that he had said all he was going to say to her, because he turned his back to her and picked up a pair of sun glasses that looked identical to the ones he was wearing. Rolling her eyes at his rudeness, she decided to go with the more civil of the two, and see how much information she could pry out of her before having to go to the Hokage herself.

"Do you know what the mission was, Hinata?" The small girl blushed and glanced at her teammate slightly before answering her. "… I don't know Sakura, I only know that Kiba mentioned he would be gone for maybe a week or two." The pink haired Shinobi inwardly rolled her eyes. She hated Hinata's over exaggerated shyness… But at least the girl hadn't stutterd!

Nodding her head to her as a formal good-bye, Sakura decided to go searching for the only other Uchiha alive that was not considered a murderer... yet. She had a feeling that he was going to get pissed when he found out that Naruto had left without so much as even telling them…

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Sakura glared at her plate of vegetables as she poked it with a furiousness that she hadn't known could be felt towards broccoli. She wasn't exactly mad at her broccoli- more like she was mad at the way her day had gone- and she was taking out on her broccoli! First, her and Sasuke had had an awkward conversation in which she had felt completely and totally insecure of where her place beside him was. Now, she wasn't really an expert when it came to relationships, but she was fairly positive that a girl should never be doubting what place she holds with her man… And it was _that_ thought that had her moody.

Second, she had looked everywhere for Naruto only to find out that the idiot had gone on a mission and hadn't even said goodbye. She swore to kami she was going to majorly kick his ass when he got back! Then, to make matters worse, she had gone back to the Uchiha Estate, in search of her 'now formal boyfriend behind everyone's back'…. ONLY TO HAVE HIM KICK HER OUT!

_What the fuck?!_

Things were not supposed to be turning out this way. She was supposed to be happy. Sasuke was supposed to be making her feel like a princess- NOT kicking her out of his house! She was supposed to be feeling all loved and mushy and smoochy and all romantically like! SHE WAS NOT supposed to be feeling all depressed! And for another thing, she wasn't supposed to be freaking out about Naruto! The fact that the idiot had left without settling things with her first, should not be bothering her almost as much as the fact that Sasuke had kicked her out!

Life was being a bitch to her… And it seemed like she couldn't do anything about it.

"Sakura, if you're not hungry than please stop scratching my plates. Go to your room and get some rest honey, you do look tired," Sakura sighed at looked into her mothers eyes… If only she could come out to be half the woman that she was.

"Okay," She said silently as she stood from her place on the table and bowed respectfully to her father. "Good night father, good night mother." She turned around and walked towards her room, convinced that she would take some sleeping pills to knock her out. She usually didn't take unnecessary drugs, but she honestly did not feel like dealing with the stress at the moment.

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Looking out the full moon, Sakura sighed. She wondered how she had gotten into such a mess. She was seventeen, she was beautiful, she had so much going for her- she had so much talent. Yet there she was, obsessing over the hottest guy in the village, and she couldn't really do anything about it.

Sasuke was so beautiful. His black eyes. His black hair. His pale skin. Him! He was _so_ beautiful. His body, the way he looked at you, the way he talked to you, the way he was! He was so mysterious, and yet so readable at the same time!

Sakura knew that Sasuke kept to himself because he was afraid to get hurt… But she also knew that she would never hurt him. She just wished that he would give her a chance. Sure, she probably should be happy that she had even gotten to fuck with him, but she couldn't help but want more… She wanted _him_.

_She wanted his love_.

She would give anything for the love of her life to love her the way she loved him. Just because he fucked her did not mean that he love her- she was no fool! The Uchiha had made no promises to her, hell, he barely even spoke to her unless the subject was somehow related to his cock.

She had a sneaking suspicion that the black haired beauty was only with her because of her body… Sure, Sasuke considered her a friend and cared, to a minimum, or at least she hoped he did. But he didn't _care_.

He wasn't like Naruto, who was completely obsessed with her. She knew now how the blonde felt every time she had turned him down for a date. Hell, she could only imagine how he was feeling now, knowing that she had slept with Sasuke, and that his best friend had fucked the girl he loved. She felt a little guilty at the pain she was casing the blue eyed shinobi… but there was really nothing she could do about it.

Was Sakura really going to sacrifice her own happiness to make that idiot's dream of going out on a date with her, true? Hell no. Though she'd never admit it out loud- Naruto was a very, very, _very_, handsome guy. He'd find someone eventually!

…………… Though for some reason, that thought angered her. It was probably only her being a protective friend though. Don't get her wrong… She would never want Naruto to get stuck with some stupid bitch… He was already stupid enough! She really did only want the best for her loud mouth… Though it saddened her for some reason, to think that he'd have to get over her, and soon.

Because even though in a way it made her sad, he couldn't continue his little infatuation once he rationalized that she wouldn't leave Sasuke no matter what!

--------- End Chapter---------


	3. We're All Lost

AN: Hey guys I sort of forgot about this website for a while. Sorry for doing that, but be assured that this Story IS basically halfway written already. I have more chapters, already beta read (for the most part) so just be good, review, and get your updates!

Chapter Three- We're All Lost

Naruto crouched on the floor, going over the map that the Hokage had given them to the Bear Village. He couldn't believe that he had trusted the dog boy to lead them there... The teme had actually gotten them lost! It was embarrassing to say the least. They were Konoha ninja, and they were lost! Thinking about it made him want to pound the dog boy into the ground a few times and again. Trying to control the growling that was out of its own accord continuously coming out of his throat, Naruto tried to figure out the new route that they would be taking. Ignoring the irritating growling that was emmanting from his stomach, Naruto scratched his head as the series of lines drawn poorly together were very much confusing the shit out of him. No wonder they were lost. This had to be a joke... or someone seriously had to go back to the ninja academy and relearn how maps worked and exactly how they should be made.

Being too busy criticizing the way the map was set up, Naruto didn't even notice Kiba come from the woods carrying logs for the fire they were to get started. Though as soon as Akamaru tackled him to the ground, Naruto sent a heavy glare Kiba's way. This was all i his /i fault, after all. The baka should have known that the map was obviously a joke and that they were totally going a completely different route than where the Bear Village was. Someone was totally going to get fired!

"So did you manage to figure out what direction the Bear Village is?" Kiba walked over to where Naruto was and dropped the logs with no ease onto the ground beside him. Dust lifted from the floor, causing a very distraught blond to cough and almost choke to death. "You know, maybe if you had done your job and had not insisted on trusting me, we wouldn't have gotten into this situation in the first place," Kiba smirked as Naruto's death glare did absolutely nothing to intimidate him.

"Listen dog breath, I don't need for you to tell me how to do things! I'll figure out a way to get to the Bear Village... And by the end of the day, I'll even figure out where we are!" Making his mind up that he was going to be true to his word, and do just that, he ignored the way Kiba rolled his eyes.

"Naruto, why don't we just go to the nearest village and ask for directions? Much more simple, don't ya think?" The fukker called out over his dog as he scratched him behind the ears. Honestly, Naruto had to agree that that was the best idea i ever /i ... But he would never admit it out loud. He wished Kakashi-sensi were here. The copy nin would know where to go.

"Listen you flea infested shit head; I i don't /i need to ask for directions..." And he figured that that much b was /b true… i He /i didn't need to ask for directions, and kami help him, i he /i wouldn't do so either! "…But if i you b want /i /b to, feel free to do so yourself... I'll wait for you here," Giving dog breath a cheesy smirk, Naruto propped himself on the floor comfortably. He hoped that Kiba took the hint, because he had way too much fucking pride to do such a thing. Even with a mask... someone might recognize his voice! Hell... No one really could sound like him, even he knew that!

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Dog boy had been gone for over three hours... Naruto was starting to wonder where exactly the nearest population of people was. He'd gotten a chance to set up camp, eat dinner, and now he was even showering in a lake that he had found not even four miles away. Though he wouldn't complain about that part... It was actually really relaxing. The water there felt so good against his skin that thinking about it more clearly, he hoped Dog Breath' took a few more hours.

Sighing as he scrubbed the dirt off his back as best he could, Naruto's thoughts couldn't help but go back to his personal problems… He'd been trying to avoid it as much he could… But it just wasn't humanly possible to do so. As much as he hated to admit it, it was really i all /i he could think about. Sasuke and Sakura…

i Sasuke and Sakura… /i 

i Sasuke and Sakura… /i 

Letting his head drop completely under the water, Naruto enjoyed the feel of his whole face being drenched in its warmth. He wished he got sent off on missions more often. Usually the old hag kept him in the village with the excuse that Konoha needed Strong Ninja's within its walls. She was always going on about how if she sent away all her good ninja's and Konoha was attacked- that would be the end of it all. He knew though that it was all bull…

If that were to be true; Sasuke, Neji, and even Lee would be staying in the village more often. It was just an excuse to keep him near- So that the people that were after his demon couldn't get their hands on him so easily.

It wasn't fair though. It truly wasn't…! Sasuke had b betrayed /b their village! Sasuke had gone to Orochimaru i willingly /i . The bastard had learned of the dark ways… He had CHOSEN to be evil!! And yet, Konoha trusted him more than they trusted him. If he were to be completely honest, he would have to say that he'd been sad when Sasuke returned home (Aside from being the most happiest he had ever been in his entire life, of course).

Secretly though, he had wished the bastard's death all along.

The teme had it i all /i ! Everything he could ever wish for or wanted, he could have gotten. Sure, he had lost his whole family at a very, very young age. And yeah, he could understand the want to take revenge on his brother… He swore Itachi was the bloody devil himself! …But that was not a good enough excuse to betray the whole village, to betray his friends… To betray i him /i !

It just was not a good enough excuse to become everything that he was supposed to hate. To become exactly like Itachi…! To become everything he was supposed to stand against.

And yet, even though he had hurt the whole Village, they had wanted him back. They had wanted their only Uchiha survivor back… And they had wanted Naruto gone.

i Because Naruto is the demon boy… /i 

He could still remember the day that the bastard had returned home out of his own will. It had honestly been the weirdest thing in the world. He'd been the first to know, of course… The bastard always did like hurting him in any way or form possible…

He had been deep in the forest, training, trying to become stronger so that he could bring said bastard back. Then, out of no where, a blast of Chidori hit him in the back! He'd been scared to his toes and had almost shit in his pants. That was until he realized who it was… Then, all he felt was anger. He'd actually been angry that Sasuke had returned to Konoha again!

…But most of all, he'd been hurt. Hurt that the bastard would take a strike at him while he had not even been looking… It had made Naruto unleash his demon power, which was something he never liked to do… It was too painful. He didn't like thinking of it, but it was engraved into his head. He had seen the look of Disgust on Sasuke's face…

That look had hurt the most.

It was the sort of look that told him that he and Sasuke had never really been friends… And though things might have changed a bit since then… It was that same look that Sasuke still shot him at times, that made him uncertain where he stood with the young Uchiha. It was that look that reminded him daily that he would i never /i be good enough for i them… /i 

Walking out of the heavenly lake, Naruto sighed as he put on his black T-shirt and orange pants. He was getting hungry again, and he still didn't sense Kiba anywhere near. The baka had probably gotten himself into some trouble. Shaking his head at the thought, he decided to go back to camp and wait on the stupid dog to show up. If he wasn't back by morning, he'd have to go looking for him… Damn!

---------------

If it wasn't for the fact that he KNEW he was going the right way, Naruto would think that he was totally going the opposite direction of Camp. Something weird was going on… Not to mention there were times when he felt in and out lapses of energy. He knew he was being followed; but he had absolutely no idea by whom; or even what was going on with his surroundings. Unless he was under some sort of jutsu that he couldn't dispel. Kami knew he'd already tried i that /i trick. So he figured he'd keep walking and avoiding the situation for as long as possible, or at least until he found out more about his enemy.

So far, from the little lapses of energy that had been left uncovered, he knew that whoever it was that was following him, was becoming weaker and weaker by the moment. This meant they were hurt. He also knew it was only one opponent. So he had a fair chance of winning, since he had conserved most of his chakra, and had a full pouch of weapons on him. Plus… He was Naruto! Of course he could beat this person.

He just had to get out of this jutsu that kept him walking in circles.

Naruto knew it was only a matter of time before this person showed their face and decided to attack. Which meant it was only a matter of time before he kicked their ass all the way to China! He stopped as he approached the lake which he had left about an hour ago. Looking around slowly, Naruto tried to see if anything, ANYTHING, was out of place… He had to find the weak point of the jutsu, or he'd probably be stuck here while Kiba ate all their food.

Looking around he noticed that there was a rather large rock right in the spot where he had changed earlier. Odd… He swore that it hadn't been there before. But that wasn't what surprised him the most. No, what had him on his toes was the fact that whoever was trying to get him would let the weakness of the jutsu be such an obvious thing. That either meant it was a trap… or this person was very, very, very, very stupid. Though, if the lapses of energy that he had been feeling more and more recently, were anything to go by (and choosing to get out of this jutsu sooner, rather than later… EVERYONE knows Naruto has no patience!), Naruto knew that his suspicions were if not true, very close to the truth. So… He decided to take a go for it.

Taking a sharpened kunai from his pouch, Naruto shot it at the rock- watching it dissolve on contact. He stared as the lake disappeared before his very own eyes, more rocks and trees appearing in its stead. Taking in his new surroundings, Naruto calculated that he was about two hours away from camp, more towards the direction of Konoha, and away from his original destination. Damn, he swore he would kill whoever was doing this!

Now, it wasn't that he was conceited or anything, but he loved the fact that he had some of the best reflexes ever! Dodging a kunai that had been aimed at his head, and had seemingly come out of nowhere, Naruto laughed at the idiocy of whoever was trying to "capture" him. How did this person even survive? They had just given away their position…!

Throwing four Kunai at a large oat tree that was already shaking on its own, Naruto waited for the culprit to fall. And sure enough…. The culprit fell…

Staring wide eyed at a girl that barely had any clothes on her, and looked like she had been starving herself, Naruto's jaw dropped. "Wow…" The word left his mouth without his approval…

"Please don't kill me!" The black haired girl whispered, those blue eyes captivating him on the spot…

Oh. Shit.

---- End Chapter---


	4. Relationships at Heart

Chapter four— Relationships at Heart

Naruto watched as the stranger he had met only moments ago sprinted backwards and ran faster than he would imagine she could. _What the hell?!_ He had no idea what was going on… but he at least did know one thing. He had to chase the girl down.

"This sucks," He said to himself as he started jumping from tree to tree in an easy attempt to catch up to the black haired beauty. In a matter of seconds Naruto found himself landing about twenty feet in front of her, his arms crossed, and a bored expression plastered on his face. It was all for show though… He hadn't been this intrigued by a girl for a long time. And he was itching to know more about her. 

"Stop right there… I don't want to hurt you," Perhaps those were the wrong words to say, because at the mention of hurting her, the girl's eyes widened in shock, and immediately she turned the opposite direction and started her run once again.

"Shit," Naruto rolled his eyes and got ready to run after her once more, but suddenly, he was able to sense a familiar Chakra flow very near by… And he figured he'd done enough exercise for the day, so he opted to watch and be amused.

"WHO ARE YOU, WHAT DO YOU WANT?" The girl stopped abruptly as Kiba stood before her, one eyebrow raised in question. Naruto growled in frustration. The girl made it seem as if though they had attacked her first! He had no time for nonsense! They had to get rid of her soon so they could continue on their mission.

"Listen, **YOU** had **me** under a jutsu! So, we ask the questions, and you _answer_ them, Comprende?" Naruto walked closer to the couple and stood beside Akamaru, mentally rolling his eyes as the dog nudged him in the leg.

Yeah… he had missed him too…

"You were following me, why?" Naruto looked at the girl straight in eye, noticing how tired she really looked. Her hair was nothing but a tangled mess; she had dark circles under her eyes, and those blue ocean pools that had captivated him only moments ago, served to cause a nasty stirring in his stomach. She looked awful.

"I... Didn't know where to go… I don't know where to go…" Her small voice echoed in his head. He didn't have time for this, DAMMIT!

"So you put him in a jutsu?" Kiba's voice was heard for the first time in this confrontation. If it wasn't for the fact that they had a strange half naked girl in front of them, he'd tackle the dog for taking so long and getting them lost in the first place! THIS WAS ALL HIS FAULT!

"I wasn't sure if he would hurt me or not… I had to take precautions." She looked Kiba in the eye, and Naruto watched as that familiar glint was now in Dog Boy's eyes. Oh great… now he had to try and keep him from molesting her.

"Are you alone?" Naruto inquired, trying to get this over with a soon as was humanly possible. 

"……Yes," Was the simple reply that the girl gave. Naruto watched her as she looked down, her fingers playing a war with each other. There was something weird about her, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it… yet.

"Are you hungry?" Kiba asked her, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes as the girl's head shot up at the promise of food. Great… now they were in for it! They were officially stuck with helping this stranger in whatever she needed help with.

_Stupid damned Kiba! _

"Let's return to Camp then," Naruto leaped onto a tree and took off, expecting Kiba to do the work for him. It wasn't that he didn't want to help the girl… It was just that he had enough problems as it was. Plus they had a mission to complete… They had NO time for stupid shit like this.

---------------------------------

"What's your name?" Kiba had been flirting with the girl since they had returned to camp. But what really annoyed Naruto the most was that the girl seemed to be flirting back. _She seriously couldn't be into Kiba!_ She must have some other ulterior motive.

"My name is Meaiko; you can call me Ako," The girl smiled and took a small bite of the fish Kiba had given her. "Where are you guys from?" 

"We're Konoha ninja; we're on a mission to the Bear Village." Kiba blurted out as he junked down his canteen of water. 

Now Naruto had known Kiba for many, many years. But he had honestly thought that the dog boy couldn't get any stupider! Apparently though, he had been mistaken. Honestly, what guy in their right mind gave away their mission to the enemy?! Although he supposed she wasn't technically their enemy. More like a lost girl in the middle of the forest trying to get some food… But still. She had put him under a jutsu! He wondered when Kiba had last gotten laid… that was probably the reason why he was acting so… Kiba-ish. Shino and Hinata were probably holding out on him. Bastard deserved it too.

"Wow, you two must be really strong…" Ako smiled sweetly at Kiba, touching his arm slightly as she passed him the canteen he'd given her earlier. Naruto mentally rolled his eyes as he watched Kiba choke.

_Idiot. _

Suddenly, a beautiful idea popped into Naruto's head. Kiba was going to pay for this… "So Kiba, what do you think Shino is up to right now?" Ahhhh yes, he would mess with Dog boy's head. And surely enough, Kiba started coughing even louder.

"Why the hell should I care, Naruto-_chan_," Kiba growled out- but that didn't stop the blonde. 

"Well… Seeing on how he's got you and Hinata on a tight leash and all... Speaking of Hinata, I miss her, don't you?" And at that Kiba cursed under his breath as he stood. 

"I'm going out for a walk, Uzumaki."

Naruto had to applaud himself. He knew Kiba would cower under the threat of Hinata and Shino finding out of his very flirtatious nature. Though it was still surprising how much the Dog boy actually cared. Although he was happy at the outcome of Kiba's reaction… apparently he hadn't thought the whole thing through.

He was now stuck with Ako… _alone. _

"What's wrong with Kiba-kun?" Ako asked innocently.

"Nothing… He just remembered of a few people that are probably going to be upset with him back home." Naruto finished his food and stood. "You can sleep in that tent. Kiba and I will share mine." He pointed at Kiba's tent.

"You mean he's in a relationship?" Ako completely ignored him and went back to the previous conversation. He wondered if maybe she was a spy. But then again, it was probably just her butting into other people's business.

"Something of the sort… Why do you care?" He raised an eyebrow; taking in the full picture of the homeless girl once again.

"Well, its not that I care… just that I don't want to bother him so much if he's taken. What about you Naruto-kun, are you taken?" Her voice became smoother. And Naruto really had to give it to her… She was something else.

How was he supposed to answer that, he didn't even know the answer to that question himself. Though he figured that that alone should be the answer in itself… Sasuke and Sakura probably hadn't thought about him in these last few days. Why would he kid himself? He was no one to them… Why would they care about him? They had each other.

"I'm… Well… see…" That was a mistake though; he should have just said: "Yes, I'm in a relationship." Unfortunately though, he didn't.

Now she was all up on him.

"Well… How about you think about it, Naruto-kun, and in the meanwhile, you and I have some fun, eh?" She leaned into him and their lips pressed together.

_Oh Kami… her lips are so soft…_

--- End Chapter---

A/N: ReViEw eH:D


	5. Reality

Chapter Five— Reality

Naruto didn't know what he was doing anymore. It was as if though his lips had a mind of their own. He pressed gently back into Ako's lips. They were sweet, she tasted oddly enough of oranges. She plunged her own tongue roughly into his mouth, exploring him thoroughly. And he couldn't help the moan that escaped his lips at her actions.

He'd never had anyone try to touch him in such ways. His body had never felt as if though it were on fire like this before. He was exploding inside… and he was trying hard not to just hold her down and fuck her right then and there.

Apparently Ako new what she was doing though, because she brought her hand up and gently tweaked at a nipple through his black shirt. The action sent an electrical shock wave to travel down his spine. He was literally in heaven. She suckled at his bottom lip once or twice more before trailing a wet line down his chin and starting her ministrations on his neck. Naruto was sure he would get a hickey.

Though he really didn't have much time to think of that as Ako's free hand started on his neglected pluck. The sensations were incredible. He writhed beneath her, not caring that he was acting completely out of character. Not caring that a girl he new nothing about was touching him in ways only the one you love should touch you in.

"Why don't you lay back Naruto, eh? Let me take care of you." Ako's voice was smooth, she sounded in control; and by the way she gently pushed him into the floor, Naruto new that she was indeed a pro at this. Her hands traveled to his sides, down all the way to the bottom of his black shirt. She traced little circles on the exposed flesh there, teasing him lightly.

She pulled his shirt off, exposing Naruto's athlete physique- and it was a sight to see. The tanned skin shone in the daylight, and she trailed her fingers over his chest lightly. "We're gonna have some fun, Naruto-kun."

Ako's lips connected with Naruto's once again, and the blondes groan was strangled with her tongue. He was getting more and more desperate for the real thing now. "Ako," he whispered in between breaths. She seemed to get the message though, because she was off of him the very next second. She took off her blouse, exposing her milky breasts- a black tight bra holding them in place.

"You're beautiful." Naruto said to her as he reached out his hand to touch her. He grabbed a handful of her right breast, fingers squeezing and enjoying the smooth skin.

Ako took the rest of her clothes off, she was naked and bare for Naruto to see and enjoy. "Now for your pleasure," she got on her knees beside Naruto and un-zipped the orange kakis he'd been wearing. Letting his boxers slide down his legs, and off, Naruto gasped as she freed his erection.

Kami… He wanted her lips on him _now_!

Smiling up at him seductively, Ako opened her mouth and placed the head of his cock in-between her soft lips. She suckled lightly, letting her tongue tickle the slit. Naruto had never felt such bliss before.

"Ako! Take it in!" He instructed; and he was awed a he watched his whole eight inches disappear into the back of her throat. It felt soooo good. His whole body was shaking and his mind was swirling and he was feeling _so_ many emotions _and_ he was going to cum…!

Looking into her eyes, he silently asked for permission. The mischievous look she gave him told him everything he needed to know. Naruto pushed into her as far as he could, enjoying her exquisite throat. Throwing his head back in pleasure, Naruto gave out a loud moan as he came in Ako's mouth, holding her head in place.

----------------------------------------

Sasuke stood there, watching his girlfriend fume at him for no reason at all. It'd been almost a week since Naruto's departure, and it was as if though she'd been on her period the whole damned six days. He'd had enough of it. He wasn't her boyfriend just so she could lash out at him for every little thing that went wrong. He had a temper of his own, mind you!

"Get. Out." He commanded in the low icy voice he used often, even on her. However, he knew that she wouldn't take to the command to kindly… hell, the bitch would probably yell at him even more now! And as if set to prove his point, Sakura glared at him with a might that made him almost want to apologize… almost.

"Dammit, Sasuke, how can you be so fucking clueless? Fine, I'm leaving Mr. Ice Prince, just don't come crawling back to me when you need pussy!" She growled out the last part as she started towards the exit of the Uchiha Estate. Well, at least she'd managed to get his attention now; that's what she had wanted, right?

Damned stupid bitch couldn't take no for an answer! And she certainly did know how to take things to an extreme and over exaggerate _everything_! It wasn't as if though he'd told her the relationship was over! And they said _he_ was too serious! _She_ was the one that made things go to an extreme!

She'd been grating on his last nerves for the past week and he'd been allowing her to even cut into his personal time. And yet, he still got yelled at for no apparent reason! Well… Okay, maybe she did have a reason, but still! She should learn to take no as an answer and live with it. Life isn't full of roses.

"What the fuck is your problem, Sakura?" He managed to grab a hold of her left arm before she got out the door, though that was a mistake, because with her right hand, she bitch slapped him! Sasuke's hold tightened on her left arm. _Now_ she was really asking for it…

Sakura must have seen the anger in his eyes because she suddenly stopped fighting against him and her eyes got all watery and teary and it just… managed to break through his anger. Why did she do that to him? No, that was the wrong question. _Why_ was she _able_ to do that to him?! Damn stupid whiney bitches and their tears!

"Sasuke, it's not fair! All my parents want is one dinner with my boyfriend! I can't even give them that, how the hell do you expect me to feel?!" She sobbed into his chest, and somehow the tables were turned and he was now hugging her tightly trying to comfort her in the best possible way he could.

"Sakura… You promised me you wouldn't tell anyone. You broke the promise. I told you before that I wasn't ready for a relationship in public… much less your _parents_." He calmly rubbed her back, silently cursing Naruto for not being there. The idiot was much better at these sort of things than he was.

"Well what was I supposed to tell my mother when she saw the huge hickey you left me! Besides, they're not public, they're family. They're important to me."

"Yeah I get that; but it doesn't feel right yet, Sakura. You have to respect me and give me time… Your _parents_ have to respect me and give me time. It just doesn't feel right yet." Sasuke's voice was gentle but stern. He hoped she would see his reason and leave it be. It wasn't as if though his parents would die if he didn't have dinner with them. He needed time to think about everything.

Sighing, Sakura hugged him for another minute or two before leaving Sasuke's arms and smiling shyly at him… that smile always made his stomach turn, for some odd reason. "Okay, I'm sorry I was acting like that. I guess I just got frustrated and fed up. Next time try to explain yourself instead of just saying _no_. It works better. Anyways, I have to get home now, I'll see you tomorrow."

Sasuke watched as his girlfriend closed the door behind her; leaving him in his living room alone. Not that there was anything wrong with that. He actually needed alone time, he hadn't really gotten any since that damned blonde idiot had left. He fully planned on punishing the baka for it as well. It was as if though Sakura spent the time she would normally spend on the dobe, on him instead. Not that he didn't like her company… okay, well most of the time he _didn't_ like her company, but could you really blame him for it? She was _always_ all over him, touching him as if though he were hard 24/7! And to top it off, she was even worse with Naruto gone! And _he_ was the one having to deal with it.

Sasuke walked the path to his room and hopped on his bed; laying his head on the feathery pillow Sakura had given him once for his birthday. He smiled at that. Who the _hell_ bought anyone _pillows_ for their birthday? It was stupid, he thought, but they were comfortable.

Deciding that it was getting chilly, he covered himself with the bright orange red and blue 'Super Man' blanket that the dobe had gave him on the same birthday. He was surrounded by idiots, he mused. Though Sasuke had to admit that it was actually pretty funny that he was using the blanket. He remembered telling Naruto that he was stupid for getting him such an idiotic gift. He had told the baka that he was going to burn the blanket. The memory caused him to smile. It was really funny because the blanket was actually his favorite, and he didn't really like sleeping with out it.

Sasuke wondered if his friend would ever forgive him for what had been done to him. Sasuke was no idiot; he knew Naruto was pissed at him. And he figured he had a right to be pissed too. He had known that his blonde friend had had a crush on Sakura since they had been in the Academy. He'd known that Naruto was in love with Sakura… yet he didn't care. Sasuke had still fucked her. And what was worse… He'd fucked her for almost four months without telling Naruto about it.

Sasuke didn't care though. After all, Sakura _didn't_ want Naruto. No, Sakura wanted _him_. She'd made that clear to the blonde time and again. It wasn't his fault that the baka kept setting himself up for a heart break. I mean, you'd think that after years and years of being rejected, you'd figure out that you don't have a chance. But not _his_ idiot. Oh no, Naruto still insisted- and it was his own fault that his heart was now broken.

However, he still had the problem of trying to figure out how he was going to fix it. Naruto had left on bad terms with him and Sakura. He had thought that Naruto would come up to his doorstep the next day for a duel or something. But no, he had left and he hadn't said a word to them. It made him angry just thinking about it.

Sasuke knew that when Naruto returned he was going to be acting as if though he were a victim. Though honestly, if Naruto was a victim, then the blonde was a victim of his own crime; because Sasuke could have done absolutely nothing to prevent what happened on that night. Sakura was his _girlfriend_; it wasn't as if though he had raped her or anything. Though he was sure that the blonde would come up with something to throw in his face… Naruto really never was able to keep the peace if he thought he had been wronged somehow. He just hoped the dobe got here in one peace to fight him.

He was angry that Naruto had left without letting him know. Or rather, he was _worried_ that Naruto had left without letting him know. The idiot was already a horrible fighter, his head was never in the game, he was always way too rash and impatient, but when he was angry and distracted, he was even worse. And he had _KIBA_ there to protect him! It didn't really make Sasuke feel much better.

He would never admit to it out loud, but he was really worried for Naruto's safety. He hoped that he didn't do anything stupid while away, because Sasuke was usually always stuck having to clean after the blondes stupidities, and he wasn't up for that at the moment.

He had enough of his own problems to deal with.

---- End Chapter Five----


	6. To be Happy

Chapter Six— To be Happy

It wasn't as if though he didn't want to go back, Naruto had missed Konoha intensely, _of course_ he wanted to go back to his home! The only thing holding him back was that _now_ he had to face his problems… and _that_ was going to be a problem. He couldn't even think of an explanation to give everyone about why he brought Ako back with him. Tsunade was going to have his head for this, he was certain.

Not only that, but he was pretty sure that Ako's presence in Konoha would produce a lot of questions, and questions meant he had to have answers… something he didn't have. Hell, HE didn't even know why he had brought Ako back with him.

He was sure it wasn't because he liked her. Hell, she annoyed the hell out of him; it was almost like having two Kiba's with him at a time… The only difference was that the original Kiba was actually smarter— go figure. Naruto had to hand it to her though, Ako did have the looks and the whole innocent act rooting for her. He just wished she didn't spend the whole time flirting with the damned Kiba.

After they had finished their mission they had stayed in the nearest village to get some rest. To his dismay, Ako had shared a room with Kiba. He wasn't sure if whether or not he hated that fact or if he was simply relieved that the strange girl wasn't clinging to him like he had first thought she would.

He didn't even feel weird with her or anything— she treated him fairly enough. She didn't demand anything from him, special attention or anything of the sort. Hell, she treated Kiba with more respect than him— or at least it looked that way to him. Naruto figured she was trying to get into Kiba's pants though… Fox down, Dog to go, right?

Whatever, it wasn't like he really cared or anything… it was, after all, only a blow job. It wasn't like he wanted to do it again, it wasn't like he wanted to burry his cock deep inside her warm pussy… It wasn't like he wanted to touch those soft breasts again— kiss those lips and bruise that enchanting neck of hers.

_Who the fuck are you kidding Naruto… You're horny as hell… _

Sighing, Naruto looked down at his home Village. They were on the mountains, forty more minutes and he would be home at last. He wondered if Ako would like Konoha, he wondered if she would try to stay with Kiba. For some reason the thought nerved him. If she was to stay with anyone, it should be him, not Dog breath. Why did no one ever want him? Why could he never be happy?

Shaking his head, Naruto looked over at Ako and she smiled at him gently. Those beautiful big blue eyes captivated him on the spot again. She was his first sexual experience; she had been the first to ever want him in any way whatsoever. Was it really wrong to want her back, to want her in that way once more? Why was he having such a hard time accepting that he had actually enjoyed what had happened in the forest almost two weeks ago? There was nothing wrong with it, Ako was beautiful, and he… well, he was young and horny!

Though sending a not so genuine smile her way, Naruto knew why he was having such a hard time with this… He felt like he had betrayed _them_. He felt like he had betrayed those whom he cherished most in this world— those whom he would die for. He felt as if though he had just back-stabbed his two best friends in the world: Sasuke and Sakura.

But why though? Hadn't they done the exact same thing to him? Hadn't they been screwing each other behind his back? Sasuke hadn't even had the guts to confront him straight up about it like a man! What was worse was that they had actually gotten angry at him as if though he had done something wrong! Naruto knew it was a childish game he was playing; part of him knew what it was that he was really doing with Ako. But there was a certain part of him that hoped maybe one day he could move on… Because kami knew that _they_ would never want him. They would never cherish him like he cherished them. And a small part of him argued that there was nothing wrong in trying to be happy, even if it was without them.

"What's going on in your head, sweetheart?" Naruto winced at the endearment. It was the first nickname he had ever been called that was not meant to insult him. He'd gotten used to it, but sometimes when Ako caught him off guard, he was still startled by it. 

"Nothing much, just thinking of how good a cold shower would feel right about now." He looked over at Kiba and smirked as Akamaru gobbled down a treat Kiba had intended for himself.

"I bet you'd like it better with company too," Ako passed him her canteen of water and without hesitating he took it. He'd finished his long ago and had been craving any form of liquid to go down his throat.

"Thank you," Naruto smiled at her as he wiped his lips with his sleeve. "We better hurry if we want to get there before the sun sets."

"And who said we wanted to get there before the sun sets? Hell, maybe if we wait a while, we won't have to report to the old hag until morning, what do you say Naruto, you up for procrastinating?" Kiba's pointed fangs were shown as he gave a goofy grin.

"Yeah Naruto, how bout we stay a little while longer and just have some _fun_? You know I have the jitters." Ako smiled prettily at him and Naruto could have sworn that '_fun_' meant something totally different from the kind of fun kids have. 

Looking back at the village, Naruto thought about the offer. There was no harm in camping the night right outside of the village. If they got attacked, they could easily alert the Village to their presence. Besides, it wasn't as if though he was all that eager to return to his problems… and he sort of wanted to know exactly what kind of _fun_ he could have with Ako— if at least one more time before he entered the real world once more.

"I think we won." Kiba took off his gear and let himself drop onto the floor, Akamaru whined at his owners laziness. "Let's enjoy ourselves, ne?"

"Okay, I guess it wouldn't be so bad to just stay here and enjoy the view." Naruto smiled as Ako pulled him down to sit on the floor. He wondered if he would get to have _fun_ that night, even with Kiba there.

"No, nothing wrong with enjoying the view," Ako's voice was smooth and almost as seductive as it had been that time in the forest. Naruto found that he actually didn't want to go back to Konoha… No, he wanted to stay by Ako's side because surprisingly, he realized that she actually did like him. 

--------------------------------------------

Naruto stared at the stars, loving how the gentle breeze helped him relax. It wasn't so bad sleeping on the floor just out in the open. They hadn't even bothered to set any of the tents up, what was the point? Kiba was snoring as loudly as he could, settled beside Akamaru comfortably against a large rock. Ako was a bit too close to him, perhaps if he reached his hand over he could touch her… and it was tempting. She didn't even wrap herself in a blanket, though it wasn't as if though it was that cold.

The night was beautiful, the grasshoppers lulling him to sleep with their high pitched songs. He was glad that he had agreed to stay this one night outside of Konoha, at least to just relax and get a good night sleep before everyone decided to jump on him about Ako.

It wasn't that it was wrong to bring someone new into the village… Okay, well maybe the villagers were a bit unfriendly to outsiders— heck, they were unfriendly even to him and he had lived there his whole life! But it was just that he knew nothing about Ako, he hadn't even bothered to question her. If Tsunade asked him about her Village, about her home, he'd have no response for her.

He didn't know how trained she was, he didn't know what clan she came from, he didn't know _anything_ about her. For all they knew she could be a spy… and Naruto was letting her walk right into their village.

Though he could blame some of it on Kiba though, Inuzuka hadn't even said anything when Naruto told him about bringing Ako home. Dog boy had simply stared at him, and after raising an eyebrow and shaking his head as if though Naruto was making some sort of big mistake he would regret later on, he just resumed the task of putting up their tents. Stupid Kiba was no help to him!

"What's going on?" Ako's feminine voice was surprisingly close to his ear, and he felt a shiver go down him as her small hand traveled inside of his shirt and grabbed onto a nipple.

Looking into her eyes, Naruto watched as the small girl smirked at him. "I thought you were sleeping…"

"I was, but all your loud thinking woke me up." She moved on top of him and leaned in to crush her lips against his, but Naruto stopped her.

"Kiba could hear us… It could ruin your chances with him." Naruto nodded over to the sleeping Inuzuka.

"Oh _please_, Dog boy is already taken, I have no luck with him… _you_ on the other hand are much more my type. You don't smell." She leaned in the rest of the way and kissed him gently, nibbling on his bottom lip somewhat. Naruto couldn't help but let out a light moan at the slight touch.

_God he was horny… _

"I still feel weird about doing this right next to him. If he sees us… _hell_ no." He shook his head, hating the very thought of Kiba taunting him for the rest of his life for his sexual inexperience.

Sighing, Ako stood and handed out her hand to him, "Come then, let's find a comfortable place to play…" 

------------------------------------------

Pushed up against a hard rock, Naruto moaned loudly as Ako cupped his crotch tightly. The girl was _so_ talented when it came to this, he couldn't even think straight at the moment. All he knew was that his erection was too tight and he wanted it out. Reaching out a hand to release his weeping member, he gasped as Ako bit hard on his nipple and moved his hand out of the way.

The girl bit on his nipple lightly, massaging her tongue into it, letting a wet glop of saliva shower it. "Oh god! Please…" He didn't know what he was asking for; all he knew was that he wanted more of this sensational feeling.

"You like that Naruto?" She whispered against his neck, leaving little bite marks everywhere on him.

"Yes," He managed to moan out.

"Good. And the best is yet to come." Ako dropped to her knees; she pulled down his pants and boxers, releasing his crying erection. Looking up into Naruto's eyes, Ako smirked. "What would you like me to do to you, Naruto-kun?"

The blondes eyes widened a little at the question… what the hell did she _think_ he wanted her to do?! Why was she playing games with him?! He wanted her mouth on him again like the last time! He wanted to feel her wetness encase him completely.

"I can't do anything if I don't know what you want," She whispered against his hot cock. She was teasing him, the blonde realized. And she was damned good at it too!

"Put your mouth on it…" He moaned as she placed a soft kiss on the side of his cock. "Now lick it," He threw his head back as her tongue licked him from the base up to the head. He could barely speak anymore…

"Now what?" She looked innocent as she waited patiently for his response. He felt as if though he would loose his mind if she didn't stop playing games with him!

"You know what—" Ako squeezed his dick, succeeding in shutting his complaint up. Naruto looked at her and she smirked at him once more.

_The little bitch! _

"Now what, Naruto-kun," She licked him once more, successfully making Naruto forget his anger and making him want more of that talented mouth on him.

"Now I want you to suck it, Ako. I want you to burry my cock deep inside your throat and I want to cum inside you." That response seemed to please the young girl, because she allowed the head of his cock along with about four more inches inside of her mouth.

"Yes!" Naruto hissed at the pleasure.

Ako gently massaged her tongue into the bottom of his shaft, bringing more and more of him into her mouth. Bopping her head up and down, Naruto moaned as his gentiles were being pleasured.

She allowed her teeth to gently scrape against the bottom of his head, making Naruto almost see stars. "ooooohhhhhhh," He moaned, feeling his legs weaken. She let her mouth retreat, and Naruto let out a small whine at her action. Why the hell was she stopping?

He groaned as suddenly one of his balls was neatly inside of her mouth— it was incredible! She continued her ministrations on his cock, her hand jacking him off as her mouth worked on his balls. He idly wondered how such a small and fragile looking girl could cause him so much pleasure. He loved it.

All thoughts went flying out of his head as she placed both his young muscles inside of her mouth, sucking hard, while her finger massaged his cock head. Naruto thought he would explode if she continued doing what she was doing.

And that was just what he was concentrating on trying to do. If only the bitch hadn't stopped again! "My turn, Naruto-kun, you've been having all the fun." She stood up, letting her hands go behind her back, he knew what she was doing and he actually couldn't wait to see her beautiful body once again.

Ako undid the bow that held together her blue dress, he watched as slowly the material dropped to her feet. Her breasts had nothing holding them in place, her beautiful nipples stood erect against the night air. And she had nothing covering her most secret spot either— he couldn't move his eyes from her pussy.

Ako had a small patch of hair neatly trimmed and he could see how wet she was. The blonde suddenly got an unruly urge. He wanted to taste her. And it seemed that she wanted the same thing because she laid herself on the floor before him, her legs wide open, completely exposing herself to him. The sight made his cock twitch.

He got onto his knees and placed his head between her legs. His mouth was only inches from her bitter smell, he wasn't sure whether he liked it or not— but that didn't matter, he still wanted to taste her. Lowering his head closer, Naruto let his tongue slake out to experience her. He was only encouraged as the girl beneath him moaned and bucked her hips forward.

He opened her soft lips and started to lick up and down against her clit, loving how Ako made much more noise than he did. It was exciting to him that he was making her feel as good as she had made him feel. Now if only he could get pleasure from this as well. 

Naruto let his left hand go down to massage his neglected erection; then he continued his ministrations on the girl. Allowing his tongue to travel a little lower, to where he found a tight hole, Naruto plunged into it. "OH YESS NARUTO!" Ako screamed.

He bit and tickled her clit, taking turns stimulating her hole. Suddenly Ako moved into a backwards position, putting Naruto's cock into her mouth once more. That was more like it! They pleasured each other until Naruto felt he would cum into her mouth again, and soon enough he did.

"Oh Naruto don't stop! I'm gonna cum!! OH!!" And with a scream, Ako came into his mouth, and Naruto was left shocked at what he had just done. It had been even better than his first time, and he hoped it wasn't his last time.

------------------------------------

"What the hell were you thinking brat?! And you Inuzuka why did you let him do it?" Tsunade was a little more than angry, Naruto noticed, she was furious.

"Her jinjutsu was weak and pathetic. She wasn't a threat to us, and well, I wasn't in command either. Naruto wanted to bring her back; it wasn't as if though I could stop him, Hokage- sama." Kiba lowered his head as a sign of submission— an apology even, and Naruto mentally groaned at his situation.

"The fact that she can even _do_ a jinjutsu means she's had training before, baka's! We don't know what her true intentions are! She could have been hiding her true powers from the both of you in order to gain a free pass into Konoha!" Tsunade glared at both the young men in front of her, allowing a few curses to escape her lips.

"Listen old hag, we're not completely stupid. We told her nothing, and it's not like strangers have never come into Konoha before. I myself volunteer to watch her for however long you wish, until she gains your trust. I guarantee she's a good person. And with the right training, she could be a good ninja too, for Konoha." Naruto looked over at a surprised Kiba. Yeah, so Ako wanted to train to become a ninja, she'd told him that already. He was sure that she would be good at it too if she trained hard and had the right trainer. 

Tsunade quietly studied them both. She knew it was Naruto the one being stubborn, Kiba seemed completely uninterested in the girl. She wished Naruto would use his head every once in a while. She didn't trust Ako one bit, and she didn't trust Naruto's judgment in this either. "Alright Naruto, she can stay but you _will_ watch her. And she will not receive proper ninja training until I gain her trust, is that understood? She can, however, help at the academy; they've been a bit short handed lately. The Academy will pay for her help."

Naruto was happy with that, he was sure Ako would be too. "Thanks, Tsunade baa-chan." And with that said, Naruto and Kiba stood and bowed their heads slightly in respect for their Hokage. The blonde thought that that had gone quite well. Now all he needed to do was tell Ako that she wouldn't be staying with him after all.

Tsunade had said nothing to prohibit it, but the blonde had noticed that the old hag didn't like the idea of a stranger that had attacked her ninja's staying in her village. He only assumed that she would definitely not like the idea of her staying with him in his apartment either— not to mention that he wasn't sure if he really wanted that.

It wasn't anything that he had against Ako. It was just that these past few weeks things had happened that he had never expected. And he wasn't sure if he really wanted anything serious with Ako. They hadn't had actual sex yet, they had been sticking to oral— it was as if though the girl knew he wasn't ready to penetrate her yet. Not that he didn't think about it… hell, every time they were together that's all he could think about.

But Naruto knew he wasn't ready to go that far with Ako yet. He liked having someone to touch and he liked having someone touch him in those ways. But he didn't love her. And it wasn't as if though someone had ever told him this before; but the blonde had always been under the impression that such things were only to be done with the person you loved most in this world. And in his case… _persons_. He felt as if though he was betraying their trust.

But every time he thought about it, it only pissed him off. _They_ had betrayed _his_ trust. Why the hell should he care what they thought about him and Ako, right? He shouldn't even be thinking of them… They had hurt him so bad. And it still hurt like hell. Besides, it wasn't as if though they were going to stop screwing for him. It wasn't as if though they would _include_ him! He was sure that while he had been away Sasuke had fucked Sakura many times and again. And it would always be like that. He would never be with them like that… Hell, they would probably think of him a pervert if they knew what he wanted. If they knew that he wanted them both…

Naruto walked into the room where he knew they were holding Ako, he raised his eyebrow as Anko Mitarashi laughed at a joke the girl had said. If he wasn't so depressed at the moment, he would have laughed at the irony of it all. 

"Mitarashi-sama, she can be released now." Naruto walked up to Ako and took the small girls arm, pulling her to her feet. He noticed how the girl in his hand's frowned at leaving and then just shrugged. Naruto thought it was funny how much Ako loved attention. 

"You're sure, Uzumaki?" Anko walked up to the girl and smiled as she reached out her hand. Naruto simply nodded and watched as Ako took the offered hand and shook it a second too long for his liking. Were they actually flirting with each other?

Mentally shoving the thought away, not sure if he liked the idea or not, Naruto pulled Ako away and lead her into the streets of Konoha. He knew immediately where he wanted to go and where he wanted to take Ako. Ichiraku's Ramen Shop— god how he craved that delicious ramen!

-------- End Chapter -------


	7. Our Silly Fights

Chapter Seven— Our Silly Fights

Sakura had been shocked to hear that Naruto was back in the village. She wasn't shocked that he was back, per say— she was shocked that she hadn't even seen him! She had talked to Hinata in Ino's flower shop… for some reason she thought that the shy girl had gone there for the sole purpose of letting her know that the blonde was back. The Hyuga girl had taken about twenty minutes to let her know the news, and had left without buying any flowers.

She had to admit she was nervous about the confrontation she was hoping to have. Scared that her blonde wouldn't even want to look at her after what she had done to him. But honestly, did he really have a good reason to be angry with her? It wasn't as if though she had ever promised to be his… Those were fantasy's that the baka had thought up all on his own.

She knew where he was now though, and she was going to find him and settle things right away. Naruto was at the academy. After Hinata had informed her of Naruto and Kiba's arrival, she had sought out the Dog boy herself. She wanted to ask questions she knew were not wise to ask Naruto at the moment. He was a feisty one, he would easily think that any attempt of her wanting to know how he was, was some sort of way to mock him, and once again it would all turn out to be some sort of betrayal on her behalf. She was no fool; she knew how things worked in that messy mind of his… She knew Naruto hadn't forgiven her yet.

It had even been more shocking to hear that they had brought back a… souvenir, for lack of a better word, with them. And that was the reason why Naruto was at the Academy. Sakura wasn't sure what to make of the situation. Naruto had brought back to Konoha a girl… a girl that had attacked them. Kiba had said that Ako was of no harm to anyone— she was too weak and had no real training. But still… she had attacked them! What the hell was Naruto thinking?!

Of course she didn't really plan on letting the blonde know her true thoughts. First she planned on somehow managing to earn the blondes forgiveness before letting inner Sakura take over and beating the shit out of him for his recklessness!

"Sakura, what are you doing here?" It was Iruka-sensi, and she was happy for the familiar voice.

"Do you know where Naruto is?" She didn't even bother on answering the old man's question; she knew he wouldn't get offended. The man should be used to their rashness by now.

"He's showing Ako around… I think they're on the second floor." Iruka-sensi watched her silently and she became uneasy. She wanted to find Naruto before her old sensi started probing her for answers. "Arigato, I think I'll go find him now."

Walking around the corner to where she knew was an old elevator that would take her to her destination; Sakura prepared herself for the inevitable. She _knew_ already that Naruto would be nothing less than rude. Hopefully though, she would be smart enough to avoid his attempts at getting away. He always did that, he always left when he was uncomfortable. It was rather annoying.

Small children running after their companions smiled at her as she passed by, walking through the old halls of her old school. She found herself wanting to be as careless as them once more; being a kid was really much better than constantly worrying about life… about people. She remembered being their age, and a small smiled etched itself onto her thin lips.

She saw a blur of orange walk around the corner and she knew immediately who it was. Smiling, Sakura felt a surge of relief go through her as she finally saw for herself that Naruto was indeed unharmed from the mission. That was good.

She followed the path that brought her to room 123. Frowning as she heard small giggles coming from inside the room, Sakura got closer. The girl, Ako, was sitting on one of the student's desk laughing at something funny that Naruto had said. She wondered if the girl knew how annoying she sounded… or how horrible her dress was.

Sakura's eyes widened somewhat as Naruto leaned in to place a small kiss on the girl's cheek. What. The. Fuck? Why was Naruto _touching_ that bitch?!

"Naruto-kun, you're being too charming," Ako's smile made a knot build inside Sakura's stomach.

"And you're being seductive," Naruto took the girl's hand into his own, "We should find Iruka-sensi, you're going to be helping _him_, after all. Not me."

Sakura watched as they started walking towards her… and she saw the exact moment when Naruto registered her too. It was the moment when he stopped walking, let go of Ako's hand, and his eyes widened into saucers. If she wasn't so pissed she would have started laughing.

"Naruto… You're back." Well that was the stupidest thing to say, wasn't it OBVIOUS that he was back?! Sakura wanted to kick herself as the girl beside Naruto raised an eyebrow at her— smiled at her! 

There was an awkward moment of silence in which she absolutely had no idea what to say. She figured the same thing was going on with Naruto; and either Ako seemed to be waiting for one of them to say something, or she was enjoying the tension building in the room. She was starting to regret coming here to look for the blonde. This was stupid. It was all stupid. Why the hell was she here again?!

Ako cleared her throat, "Hello… You must be Sakura?"

Well, that had been unexpected. So Naruto had mentioned her, huh? She couldn't help the butterflies that exploded inside of her at the thought that Naruto had mentioned her to that bitch.

"Kiba mentioned you— the girl with short pink hair." Ako smirked as Sakura's eyebrow twitched. "We were just going to go find Iruka-sensi, perhaps you could walk with us?" 

The very idea of walking _anywhere_ with that bitch made Sakura sick to the stomach. She wasn't going anywhere. She had come to speak with Naruto, and that was what she was going to do. Ako could go find Iruka-sensi on her own. Damned bitch!

"Actually," She let her voice come out smooth, it was time to be manipulative and get her way in this, and it worked on Sasuke all the time, "Perhaps you could give me and Naruto a minute or two? He'll meet up with you down stairs." 

Ako looked at Naruto, as if though asking the blonde if that's what he wanted to do. When Naruto didn't even so much as look up at her, the girl looked straight into Sakura's eyes once more, smirking.

"Actually, I think I _really_ might get lost. If you need your privacy with him so much, then you could wait until he's done here. Perhaps he'll even go for you later on?" The damned bitch knew it was all bullshit. She was throwing it in Sakura's face too! Naruto didn't want to speak with her!

"Listen _you_… Ako. I really need to speak to him, if you can't even find your way downstairs, then I'm sure you shouldn't be working here." Sakura's fists clenched as Ako grabbed onto Naruto's arm.

_Oh no that bitch did not just grab a hold of him like that! I'll crush her with one fucking punch!!!_ Inner Sakura was really irritating sometimes. Possessive too! Sakura had to use lots and lots of will power to control Inner Sakura at that moment…

"You heard her Sakura. Besides, I don't want to see or even talk to you right now. And tell that bastard to not look for me either. I won't tell you again." Naruto shoved Sakura aside as he walked away with Ako in his arm. 

She watched them go. She heard that bitch giggle again. She saw as Naruto's arm went around Ako's waist. Sakura watched him lean over and whisper something into her ear. She felt herself wanting to do nothing but go into her room and cry…

-------------

Sitting in Ino's flower shop, Sakura realized that she had no life. Aside from Sasuke, nothing interested her… well maybe that wasn't completely true. Ever since Naruto had returned with Ako, _they_ had been on her mind regularly. It was almost as if though she had become obsessed with that bitch… with them both. It was weird. She kept telling herself that she was just worrying for her friend… Naruto was after all one of her best friends. But then something deep, deep, WAY, WAY, WAY, deep, inside of her wanted to argue that… 

Naruto was way more of a friend than Sasuke… who was supposed to be her boyfriend! What the fuck? You'd think he'd come up with ways to make her happy… but no, it seemed like he enjoyed making her suffer. It seemed like he never really ever wanted her around!

It was already three days into Naruto's return and every time she tried to go near him, he simply turned his face on her. She was seriously starting to wonder if something was stuck up his ass! And _that_ was usually Sasuke's territory.

Speaking of which, she wondered if Sasuke had even tried to talk to the blonde yet. Oddly enough, he'd been brooding more and more lately, talking even less (which equaled to no talking at all), and staying inside his home at all times. He had even declined a mission. And that was saying something!

She knew this because Lee had so gentleman like gone to say goodbye to her in case he never got to see her again… When she inquired as to where he was going, he had said he was going to Sand because rumors had it that the Akatsuki were on the move and they needed to go talk politics and what not. Supposedly Sand was their next target, and if they got away with whatever it was that they were doing, Konoha would be where the S-Rank criminals would be staying for a while. Sakura was never one for such things, but when Lee mentioned that Tsunade had tried to send Sasuke at first, it really was surprising that the Uchiha had declined. After all, he usually was crazed when it came down to anything having to do with his brother. Especially when the younger Uchiha thought that his bastard of a brother might hurt his friends. Sasuke was really protective of the Leaf, even if he had betrayed it.

Not only that, but when she had brought the subject up, Sasuke had once again thrown her out. And this time _literally_. FACE fucking DOWN into the DIRT! It really made her wonder what was going on with her boyfriend… if he could even be called that! Sometimes she wondered if she had made a mistake by accepting to be his girlfriend. But even Sakura couldn't lie to herself when it came to such a thing… She loved Sasuke. Loved him more than anything in this world… she would give her very soul for him— and if that meant she had to tolerate an abusive lover (okay he didn't abuse her but he was always so damned moody! And she did like making herself out to be the victim… it was safer and she was always right like that), then she would do it.

"Sakura, did you hear?" Ino yelled from the back of the store, catching Sakura off guard.

Grumbling to herself, Sakura rolled her eyes. Ino always had new gossip. Always. "Hear what, Ino-pig?"

"Ako's been flirting with Anko Mitarashi, like in public." Ino came out of the back room, dusting her apron and taking her gloves off. 

What?! Had she just heard right? Had she just said that Ako, Naruto's bitch, had been flirting with Anko Mitarashi?! Anko Mitarashi from the chunin exams— wasn't that woman OLD?! Better yet… wasn't that woman a… WOMAN?!

"What the hell are you talking about, Ino-pig?" Sakura stared at her disbelieving. "No way would she do that, Naruto's been watching her, she wouldn't have the time to do it behind his back," Sakura shook her head, thinking that maybe Ino really did come up with some of this stuff sometimes just out of boredom.

"Oh no, forehead girl, Naruto was there alright… He looked rather turned on by the whole thing too. I mean, who wouldn't be, right? Ako and Anko are total babes… I guess it's every guy's wet dream. And I'm pretty sure they've been doing more than flirting too…" Ino smiled as if though what she had just said was perfectly normal.

"You're saying that Ako-bitch was flirting in front of Naruto with another girl… You're saying that they're fucking, and Uzumaki doesn't even care?!" She knew she was overreacting. It wasn't even her business who Naruto dated… but somehow that sounded as if though Ako was taking advantage of Naruto. As if though she didn't even respect him! That angered her. Naruto deserved so much better than a skinny black haired short bitch!

"I have to go talk to him. And this time he's going to listen!" She threw an angry look at Ino who was about to start telling her that her shift wasn't through yet… it was her fault to begin with! She was going to talk to Naruto _now_. 

Ino sighed and rolled her eyes, "Go, go, I'll cover for you."

-------------------

Okay she supposed this was illegal, but she really didn't have another choice. Sakura _really_ needed to talk to that blonde idiot and he didn't give her a single minute in public… so she decided to go for plan B. Which was breaking an entry— into a very, very, very dirty and stinky apartment, she mused.

Whilst waiting, Sakura found herself immensely bored and disgusted. So she figured giving the rotten place a nice clean up couldn't hurt. Though she was really starting to regret doing it… _things_ were growing under Naruto's couch that she didn't even want to think about.

Her mind traveled back to what Ino had said to her in the flower shop. Ino had made it clear that Ako and Anko Mitarashi were very much having relations… How Ino would have any proof of that, she had no idea, but she knew that Ino was always 91 right. She wondered why Naruto put up with such a thing! If Sasuke did something like that to her… god no, just thinking about it made her sick to her stomach. Sasuke was hers, and she didn't plan on sharing him with no skinny bitch!

And oddly enough, she had to admit that she was feeling… jealous of Ako. Not jealous because she liked Naruto in _that_ way, heavens no! But jealous because Naruto was supposed to be one of her best friends… and he wouldn't even give her the time of day. Now, it wasn't something she was completely sure of, but she was fairly certain that it was wrong to discard your old friends for the new ones. Why was he doing that to her?! It angered and pissed her off all at the same time.

Sometimes Sakura wished that things could go back to when they had been only students in the Academy— no worries! And it had only been the three of them: Sasuke, Naruto, and her. Always. It didn't matter that they met new people, it didn't matter that they trained hard and got into fights at all times. They had always been a team, they always had each other. Always.

But she knew it wasn't that simple anymore. Sasuke had betrayed Konoha. Naruto had left to train with Jiraiya to get Sasuke back, and they had left her. They had both left her for power… and she had trained with Tsunade so that they wouldn't think less of her when they came back. Because she had never doubted that they would come back.

Sasuke had left with Orochimaru to gain power… but Sasuke wasn't evil, she had known this the whole time. She knew he'd return. And if he wouldn't return on his own, she knew that Naruto's strength would be enough to get him back. She knew that no one on earth would have been able to bring him back if it wasn't herself or Naruto. Thank kami that Sasuke had realized on his own the mistake he had made.

"What are you doing in my apartment?" Naruto's voice was low, she could tell he was angry. Gulping, she turned and was shocked to see Sasuke staring at her with his usual bored expression… next to Naruto.

Well that was a big shocker. She had expected Naruto to be alone…damn! Don't get her wrong, Sakura loved Sasuke with all her heart… but whenever he was there he made her nervous and she never did seem to speak correctly when the Uchiha was around.

"… I needed to talk to you." She quietly responded, looking over at Sasuke and trying to see if he was angry.

Sighing, Naruto looked at Sakura for a moment before relenting and taking a seat on his surprisingly clean couch. "Yeah… well, join the club," He mumbled as he rested his feet on the wooden table he usually ate on. 

"I didn't expect to find you here Sakura," Sasuke silently accused. Well, to most people it would have sounded like nothing at all, but Sakura knew better— it was most definitely an accusation.

"Yes, well we both need to talk to him and I guess it's now a good time." She stood directly in front of Naruto and frowned as she realized that he had his eyes closed, head leaning against the couches arm.

"Naruto… you can't keep avoiding me." She started, but knew that it had been a mistake as soon as the blonde's eyes opened and she saw the anger reflected in them.

"You can't really tell me what I can and can't do Sakura. I choose my friends… Don't get offended if you're no longer one of them." Naruto's words hurt. And oddly enough, she was surprised by that fact.

"You don't understand Naruto—" Sakura tried again in vain, the blonde only interrupted her rudely.

"No Sakura _you_ don't understand. You know what I realized while away on this mission? I realized that you guys have always been jerks to me… and I have always put up with it! But I don't need you. I never have. And you guys obviously don't need me… so just shut the fuck up and leave me the hell alone!" Naruto stood up furiously, sending an accusing glare towards Sasuke. "And you _Uchiha_," Naruto spat the name out like dripping acid, "I don't know why the fuck you're even here… Maybe Sakura I would have expected… but you, who the fuck are you trying to fool? Both of you are not worth my friendship… and fuck you if you think I'm going to forgive you for what you did! As if you even care, bastard!"

"Listen Naruto, I know we should have told you… but you can't just say we're no longer friends just like that!" Sakura cried.

"Oh yeah? Well it's said. I don't need you anymore." Naruto looked at Sakura, and she felt lost.

What was she going to do? 

"Get out, the both of you," The blonde's voice was low— threatening even. And suddenly Sakura was angry. She knew exactly why Naruto was acting like this! He'd probably been brainwashed by that bitch he was dragging around everywhere now! Well she wasn't just going to take it. Oh hell no!

"Listen here orange boy! You have no right to end our friendship like this! _We_ didn't have to tell you shit about _that_ if we didn't want to! That was _our_ personal life, and if we chose to keep it to ourselves then there is no reason why you should be acting like this!" Sakura screamed and she knew then and there that she had messed up, just by the look in her blondes eyes. She was hurting him… and she was starting to feel sick. She needed to lay down… now.

"Yes… you're right. It really wasn't any of my business…" Naruto looked down, clenching his fists at his side, "But that doesn't change the fact that you're still in _my_ apartment."

She stared at him. At the way her usual loud and brash blonde seemed to have lost all his happiness. He looked beat down and tired, he looked as if though nothing mattered to him anymore. He was sick… but then again, weren't they all? She didn't know what to do. She was clueless and didn't know what she wanted anymore… she didn't know if whether Sasuke was worth loosing Naruto's friendship.

Was it really worth it? 

"That's enough dobe," She looked up and met Sasuke's eyes. He looked indifferent to the whole situation… like always. He was looking at her though, telling her to keep her mouth shut with those big black orbs that she could just drown herself in… The idea was too tempting. It was weird how the Uchiha could express no emotion in his eyes, and yet she always knew what he wanted.

"That isn't what's really bothering you… is it Naruto? It's not that we kept it a secret from you…is it? Tell me Naruto, do you really like this Ako? Do you have _any_ idea what sort of rumors I've heard about you two?" The jealousy was completely unmistakable. It was there. And Sakura found herself stepping away from the two. She had a feeling things were going to get bloody.

"So what if I do like Ako, what's it to you?!" Naruto spat, shaking his head back and forth furiously. "It's not like the two of you ever cared! Stupid asshole! Get out of my fucking apartment!"

It happened so fast that Sakura wasn't sure how it exactly started. One moment Naruto was yelling at the top of his lungs for them to get out… and the next moment, Sasuke and Naruto both had bloody noses. They were actually fighting in front of her and she couldn't even find her voice. 

Sasuke aimed a well trained punch into Naruto's kidney, causing the blonde to cough up more blood. And just as Sasuke was going to lean over and probably cause more pain with his hands, another Naruto appeared behind Sasuke— kicking him into a wall. She watched as they exchanged hits, more and more blood spilling before her eyes.

They had never fought like this before. With so much anger… The time that they had, Sasuke had betrayed Konoha! Never had they sought after so much blood over a _stupid_ fight! And even though she was angry at them both for letting it get so out of hand… she couldn't help but notice as Naruto's muscles rippled and stretched and were very much shown through his torn black T-Shirt! She couldn't help but notice the sweat that caressed the Uchiha's forehead as he concentrated on summoning his Chidori… Wait… what?!

Sakura's eyes widened as Sasuke's Chidori crackled and prepared itself to attack. She couldn't let it get this far out of hand! Naruto's apartment would be completely destroyed!

She watched as Sasuke ran towards Naruto and it was as if though something had completely possessed her. Her body moved of its own accord. She placed herself between Naruto and the Chidori, hoping that it didn't hit the blonde.

She watched as Sasuke's eyes widened in fear, as it was obviously too late to stop the attack and his Chidori had been meant to hurt Naruto… She was no fool, she was not at Naruto's level at all… and she was starting to wonder if maybe this had been a bad idea. Naruto could take care of himself, after all!

She didn't have much time to think of it though, because she was suddenly thrown against a wall, painfully, as the Chidori made contact with one of Naruto's ribs. He had taken the hit for her. And she felt like an idiot now. Because thinking of it clearly, Sasuke wasn't trying to _kill_ Naruto! Naruto was by all means capable of defending himself… he would have found a way out of it and would probably have not gotten hurt at all… but she had stepped in his way, and thanks to her the Chidori had hit him at full power! And it was all her fault…! 

Sasuke's Chidori dispersed from his hand, and the Uchiha immediately went to Naruto's side. "Dobe…?" He was worried, she could tell.

The blonde muttered something unintelligently before passing out. Sasuke picked him up gently and carried him to his bed, motioning for Sakura to come to his aid. "Take his clothes off and fix him," Sasuke said as he left. 

Sakura watched as the Uchiha retreated, leaving her alone with the blonde. She was shaking and she couldn't stop herself from doing so. She looked down at Naruto and a wave of guilt rushed in on her. She should have let them settle things the way they always did— fighting. She shouldn't have gotten in their way. It was all her fault!

Fighting down the tears that were threatening to spill, Sakura cleared her head and focused on the job at hand. She was a medical-nin, and right now she needed to be professional if she was to help Naruto…

Allowing her hands to hover over the blonds ribs, Sakura summoned her chakra and got a quick analysis of the blonde's current condition. Surprisingly, he wasn't hurt too bad. He'd just need to rest a little bit, and with his healing ability, he'd be up in a few hours.

That could only mean that Sasuke had lessened the power of his Chidori before it made contact with Naruto… because really, if it had hit him full force, it wouldn't matter if Naruto had the kyuubi sealed within him, Naruto would have been in bed for at least three or four days!

Sighing in relief, Sakura made her way to the kitchen so that she could wet a rag and place it on the blonde's forehead— to prevent him from developing a fever. If all went well, he'd be up and kicking her out of his apartment in no time…

Her sadness rushed in once again at that thought.

---- End Chapter-----


	8. This is what we Feel

Chapter Eight— This is what we Feel

Naruto woke up with something wet and sticky clenching to his forehead— making him moan in annoyance. Sniffing slightly, he immediately knew where he was. He knew that rotten smell anywhere… his room! Sighing in relief, he removed the wet thing that had been drooling all over his forehead. He wondered how the hell it had gotten there in the first place. Opening his eyes, he decided to investigate and find out for himself what was going on.

_Sakura…_

Right. He remembered now. Everything came rushing back to him as he stared silently at the sleeping medic-nin in his room… sitting on his favorite chair of all time. He knew he should have gotten rid of that awful piece of furniture long ago! Though why Sakura was sleeping on it was still something he was trying to figure out… Hadn't she got the point when he'd told her to get the fuck out?! Shaking his head slightly, Naruto realized that some people would never learn.

He looked around his room and figured that nothing was missing. The only thing valuable to steal would be his lamp. Sakura had prettier ones at her own house. Rolling his eyes at the thoughts that he was having, Naruto decided it was high time Sakura left his apartment… He needed alone time to think over what had happened.

Naruto's eyes swept over the young girl before him, tracing every single detail of her into his brain… She was so beautiful. Even while sleeping, when she wasn't even trying to be! Just watching her, sleeping in such a peaceful state made something warm creep throughout his whole chest.

He wanted to touch her… He wanted to caress her, he wanted to _taste_ her. Kami help him… he wanted her to be his! Why was this so hard for him?! Why did everything and everyone seem to be against him? Why hadn't she ever accepted him…?

_Because you're an idiot… that's why, baka! You're stupid, ugly, and a monster…_

Shaking his head at how absurd everything seemed to be, he continued to stare at the one girl that had stolen his heart since he had entered the Academy. She was everything that he would never be. She wanted everything that he could never give… She already had all she could ever need: Sasuke.

It frustrated him that everyone he cared about got to be happy. Everyone but him. Sometimes life could be so unfair to people who didn't really deserve it. Naruto knew the reasons why the Village hated him, but he knew it was all a bunch of bullshit too. He was no monster…! He truly believed himself to be one of the best ninja that Konoha had. He had never taken away the life of an innocent, like people believed. Iruka-sensei had once told him that a person's true self relied on what his thoughts and his heart was telling him.

He did _not_ have murder and blood in either his thoughts or his heart. He was _not_ the Kuuybi— and people should really get over the whole dramatic scenery of blaming what the fourth Hokage did all on him! It wasn't his fault, he had not asked for the demon to be sealed within him. Yet sometimes the villagers acted so stupid that he felt like exploding. Fuck the whole "Oh Naruto, you have to understand… these people lost their loved ones!" Yeah, well maybe it would have been easier to understand if maybe he had someone to love him!

And once again, it all came back to Sakura. She had been the first person he had ever fallen for. She had hated him at first, and then she had grown to tolerate him when they had been placed in the same team— then later on she had called him a friend. But sometimes he wondered if what the definition that she had of the word 'friendship' was different from the definition that he had. A friend didn't hide things from you. Especially if they knew that when you found out, it would hurt more than a fucking kunai plunged into your fucking heart.

It didn't matter anymore though, because Naruto would never give her the power to hurt him like that again. He would never let anyone hurt him in such a way that he would wish his own death. He would never allow anyone to take advantage of him in such a way that he despised his very being. Not Sakura… not Sasuke. Never again!

Now if only he could figure out a way to get the bitch out of his chair and out of his apartment without having to actually speak to her! It wasn't that he was scared of backing away from his new found resolve… But _shit_ he was scared of backing away from his new found resolve! Sakura had a way of manipulating him… and he wasn't blind to it.

Naruto stood up from his place on the bed and decided to just walk away. It was the best thing to do. Sakura was in his room and there were only two ways she was going to get out: he either kicked her ass out, or she left on her own. He preferred not to even speak to her at the moment though, so that left her to get out on her own…

She would leave if he wasn't there.

As quietly as he could, Naruto walked over to his closet. Grabbing his favorite orange Jacket, a black shirt, and his orange kakis— he proceeded to put the garments on as quietly as he could in front of the girl that had ripped his heart out. A blush tainted his tanned cheeks as he realized that he was naked…

That meant Sakura had cleaned him.

Ignoring what the implications of that little information meant, Naruto slipped on his orange teeny shoes. Ready to go, Naruto decided that it would be quieter if he left through the window instead of taking the door right next to Sakura. Looking at the sleeping girl once more, he took a shaky breath, knowing that it was the best thing for him to do… for his own sanity he had to get away from her.

Though Naruto couldn't help but freeze on the spot when the moment that he opened the window, a breeze cooled the room, instantly waking Sakura and having her call out to him. He tensed at the sound of her voice. This was not good. He didn't want what had happened the night before to repeat itself once more.

"Don't go Naruto. Please talk to me." Sakura stood from her chair and walked over to Naruto, placing soft hands on the blonde's shoulders— he went rigid automatically. He wasn't ready for _touching_.

"… I don't think I can live without your friendship," Sakura whispered, only succeeding in angering Naruto. Why was she even telling him that? She was only confusing him because the way she said it… it almost sounded like she had meant it.

He couldn't allow himself hope anymore though. He knew first hand that the strongest hurt a person can feel is the one brought forth by killing the hope you once held so dearly. Sakura's words only wanted to plant evil seeds of hope deep inside him… he couldn't afford that. Not again. Not like this!

"Why can't you understand that it hurt me, Sakura?" He asked silently, still not completely sure why he was even indulging her. He was still planning on having nothing to do with her that didn't include work, after this.

"I know we hurt you, but please believe me when I say that it was _never_ my intention to hurt you like that."

"Then why did you keep it from me? Why didn't you just tell me?!" He was getting irritated with this stupid talk. He knew what her excuses were; he wanted nothing to do with them anymore!

"Because! I know you had feelings for me… we were scared to hurt you. That, and… and I think… I think that Sasuke was ashamed of me or something. He doesn't want anyone to know, you know? It wasn't just my secret."

"So you made me believe something that wasn't true. You made me believe that I still had a chance with you! You _hurt_ me Sakura." He was getting weaker and weaker as each minute went by. It wasn't even fifteen minutes ago when he had been so convicted of never falling for their tricks again— yet there he was, willing to believe the words that were spilling out of his love's mouth.

"It really hurts you so much, Naruto? It bothers you that I'm so happy by his side? Why…?"

At those words Naruto turned to face those green eyes that had haunted his dreams on more than one occasion. Those eyes that had once held him captivated in such a way that made him want to loose himself in those green pools. Those eyes that he had once looked upon with such adoration... Now though, those eyes caused him nothing but pure sadness— they served to remind him of something he would never have.

"Sakura… you're wrong. It's not that you are _with_ him, it's not that at all! It's that even if the jackass did not exist or live in Konoha… Even if you had never met him, you would never take into consideration that maybe _I_ could be good to you. That maybe _we_ could have something. But I guess I understand… I'm a _monster_ after all." He bit out sarcastically, knowing very well what the words would mean to Sakura.

Though he hadn't expected the feverish kiss that the young medic-nin surprised him with at his words. He didn't expect her to plunge her tongue into his mouth, uninvited. Naruto didn't expect her to whisper _his_ name. Uzumaki Naruto. Against his lips as she assaulted him. And he certainly didn't expect her to pull him towards her, leading them towards his bed.

Naruto couldn't even think straight as he found that most of his fantasies were becoming a reality right in that very moment. As those soft delectable lips brushed over and over against his own. How many times had he dreamt of kissing her? How many times had he wished for this to happen? He couldn't help but moan. He wrapped his arms around her small waist— trying to bring them as close together as he could— encouraging her to continue.

_This was what he had always wanted... _

"I love you," He whispered to her as he pushed her onto the bed none to gently. Her eyes were closed and the small whimpers that she was letting out only served to pain his erection.

Ako compared nothing to Sakura… to her touches, to her lips, to her beautiful soft skin. To the way she touched him and made him feel like he would loose his soul completely. To the way her touch made him feel so incredibly hot. She was perfect. _This_ was perfect.

Naruto watched as she lay before him, prepared to give herself to him in the most pleasurable way he could imagine. In the way he had always wanted. And yet… yet he _knew_ this was wrong…

_He couldn't do it. _

Kissing her one more time— groaning as she bucked her small but fierce hips against his painful erection, Naruto forced himself off of her. This wasn't how he wanted to have her. He didn't want to be a pity lay. He didn't want her to sleep with him just because what he had said made her feel guilty. He wanted her to _really_ want him. To **want** him. Not pity him.

"What's wrong…?" Her voice was shaky, he could see in her eyes that she was afraid… afraid of rejection. Though he knew that even the pain he was about to cause her was nothing compared to all of the years he had suffered because of her own rejection towards him. She didn't understand what she did to him… how even _now_ she was hurting him.

"You have to go," He whispered weakly, praying to all the gods that she would just understand and leave. This wasn't right. He had berated Sasuke for doing this to him not too long ago… This wasn't right. This wasn't how things were supposed to be. "Please… just go."

Sakura cleared her throat, standing and straightening herself up before the blonde. "I never wanted to hurt you Naruto… please forgive me?" Her voice held dejection… sorrow… he knew that she was sorry. He knew then that she really did care for him.

But as for her loving him in the way he so wished. He knew that it would only be a dream. If anything, he would only ever be a pity lay for her— the thought alone made him want to crawl into some hole and just die. He had never felt so alone in his life than he did at that moment. The moment when Sakura once more reached up and placed her lips on his—brushing her tongue lightly against his bottom lip. "Forgive me Naruto."

And he did. He forgave her because he knew that it wasn't her fault that she couldn't love him… that she couldn't love a monster.

-------End Chapter-------

AN: Hey guys! I feel supper bad for not updating on this website for so long! I'll post the remaining chapters today of all 15 chapters currently written. Just cuz I got super lazy of posting one each week… lmfao…. Please review? Jan e!


	9. Encounter Affections

Chapter Nine— Encounter Affections

Sasuke scoffed thinking of his old sensei… the man really gave meaning to the phrase 'Old habits die hard.' The one eyed shinobi had ordered him to come to the Hokage Tower. Now usually that wouldn't be a crime, but like always, his sensei was late. He was seriously considering the thought of leaving. Forty fucking minutes of his time wasted!

The only thing still keeping the young Uchiha in the Hokage tower was the slight problem of not knowing if he had been called there to talk to Tsunade as well. He knew that Kakashi loved to use the Tower rooms because of the privacy they offered, but he wasn't sure if that was the case this time. He hated the damned man for not telling him if the old hag expected to talk to him… he probably hadn't told him with the sole purpose of torturing him too!

He had a feeling he knew what this was going to be about though… it seemed _everyone_ knew what this was about. They had even gone to the extreme of having a few ANBU follow him around. He snorted at just the thought. If his brother wanted to get to him… he damned well would. And if Sasuke wanted to leave… he damned well could.

Apparently the Akatsuki's movements had been recently traced and they had given the Hokage of Konoha more wrinkles than he cared to think of. He had declined the mission offered to him. It had been voluntary. And for some reason Tsunade had been shocked… Though he supposed it did make sense. But he'd known that this was going to happen sooner or later. They were after the Kuuybi and they weren't going to sit down and do nothing about it. They were, after all, the strongest organization of criminals that were around.

Sasuke knew that he would once again have to face his brother… and as much as his Uchiha blood craved to spill that bastards living essence, he knew that if he had gone on that mission he would have lost himself once again. He would have lost himself in the agony of his own wrath. He only just admitted to actually caring about himself and about life in general to just go and loose that for the sake of that bastard. He couldn't afford it. He didn't want that to happen… not yet anyways.

_You are not growing stronger here…_

The milky voice rang through his head, reminding him of the unpleasant encounter…

_You disgust me… You're even weaker than before… _

Itachi had taunted him with that look that as a child had made him feel unworthy of being an Uchiha.

_You will loose if you come against me in your current state… _

Those words had repeated like a recording machine, over and over again in his mind almost every night since he had returned to Konoha. Those were the words his anaki had used to make him see how pathetic he had really become while in Orochimaru's care. It really was ironic how he had no one to thank but his brother for making him see what a mistake it had been to trust in the snake.

It was his brother who had saved him from loosing himself in the snake's lair. It was actually kind of surprising how far Itachi had gone just to show him that drawing on someone else's strength was really only a weakness… It made him pathetic. Though why the bastard had done it, was beyond him. Sasuke was pretty damned sure the bastard didn't have a heart. So he doubted it had been pure kindness on his anaki's part… Itachi didn't have a heart.

In the end it was Itachi's threat that had made him return though… _I will kill those you love..._

In that moment, when those words had slipped passed the murderers lips… only two names had echoed in his head. His blood rushed as the fight between him and his brother had engaged. He had never tried harder to live than in that moment. The moment when he knew _they_ were in danger.

"Yo," Kakashi-sensei's voice sprung him from his thoughts, and Sasuke made sure that any emotion that had been showing on his face was removed immediately.

"Hn," He replied, acknowledging his old sensei with little enthusiasm. 

"Sasuke-kun… We've got something to talk about and I'm sure you have an idea what it might be." Kakashi's only showing eye gave a slight curl, almost as if though he were smiling… "Come, Tsunade is waiting for us," Kakashi led the way to the Hokage's office.

Somehow Sasuke had known this was going to happen. He didn't exactly know what was going on, but he knew that they were going to try and send him away again. Though this time he doubted he'd get the benefit of it being a voluntary job. 

Upon entering the Hokage's shit hole that she proclaimed to be an office, Sasuke made a point to show how disgusted he was with all the mess by allowing a funny face to overtake his normal one… not like he could help it anyway. He gave a slight bow of respect and waited to be acknowledged.

Tsunade looked up from her never ending stack of papers and sighed. Sasuke slightly wondered if it really was that much work being Hokage… or if she simply had that much work because she never did it when she was supposed to. Realizing that he didn't really give a damn and that he didn't want to be there anymore, he spoke up. "You wanted to speak with me, Hokage-sama?"

"Yes," She opened the drawer in her desk and pulled out a brown envelope. Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke waited patiently for the woman to continue. "Our men have been slaughtered. Jiraiya thinks that they got much too close for their own safety… resulting in this." She threw the envelope at him and he barely had enough time to catch it.

Clearing his throat, he shifted on his feet uncomfortably as he pulled what seemed to be pictures of dead ANBU from the brown envelope. "Those are the remains of the team I sent against those monsters." Tsunade watched him silently as he examined each and every picture, a name and full summary of what the cause of death had been, was summarized for the Uchiha to read.

"They were all roasted alive." Sasuke stated the obvious, never taking his eyes off the pictures. He had known two of the ninja and he couldn't take his eyes off their dead corpses. He almost felt guilty for not being there to help them. 

"Yes… and I have reason to believe that Neji and Lee have been taken captive. I have no idea why they would be of use to the Akatsuki but until I know for sure that they are dead, I can't just let them stay in their hands without making a move."

"You want me to go find the location of the Akatsuki?" This was suicide… and as much as the little voice in his head told him not to go because he was going to die. He was pretty sure this time it _really_ wasn't voluntary.

"I can't afford to loose another squad of ANBU. Sand, for some reason, is thinking that they won't attack and are relying on the fact that we have more firepower than they do… along with more ninja. But if we _don't_ get scared than I really am giving them a free pass into Konoha. It's not wise to ignore the fact that they could strike at any moment and possibly win. I can't afford mistakes at the moment." She sighed and threw another envelope at him. "This is where Jiraiya thinks that they have their base. He hasn't tried to get in yet because… it's too dangerous for him alone."

"My mission?" Sasuke asked, opening the new envelope in his hands.

"Meet with the toad at those coordinates and sneak into the Akatsuki's lair. Jiraiya will not go with you and if he even attempts to, I expect you to stop him. You are to _try_ and find any information about what they are trying to do. If you can not, then you are to find Neji and Lee and immediately get out of there."

Sasuke nodded slightly, he understood his mission and he would do his best to pull _that_ off. Although he seriously expected to die trying to do this— there really was no way he could pull this off alone. And he knew that when a ninja didn't have faith in his own mission, the chances of him dying increased by a large portion… but he honestly wasn't going to lie to himself about this. He couldn't even beat his anaki… and that was only _one_ member of the Akatsuki. He doubted he could take them on all at once… and he was sure he was going to get caught.

There was no way one could just walk into their home and not be noticed. And personally he had no wishes of dying just yet… but what the hell, right? "It's suicide," He stated. Making sure she knew exactly what he was thinking. She should really know that he was going to die, in case she had bypassed that little part of the plan.

"Since you obviously don't want to die, don't get captured." She barked, crossing her arms over her large cleavage. He stared blankly at her trying to figure out if she even cared one bit that she was sending him out on a suicide mission— against his worst enemy. The old hag was good at covering her own emotions well when it came to duty though.

"Uchiha, don't tell me you're scared. Perhaps I should give this mission to Naruto?" She raised a blonde eyebrow at him, tightening her face, giving herself more wrinkles. 

"No," Sasuke replied, almost too quickly. He thought the old hag had finally lost her mind if she was really thinking of sending that baka. The Akatsuki would just _love_ for her to give up his dobe on a silver platter. He wouldn't allow that though. And of course he wasn't _scared_… the old hag was really trying his patience with her nonsense. 

"What makes you think I can do this without getting caught though?" He was curious if maybe she did think he could make it out of there alive.

There was a tightening in his chest that he couldn't explain at the thought of being with his brother once again… He would admit, to himself at least, that if he was scared of _anything_ it sure as hell wasn't of dying… but he was sacred of dying by that bastard's hand. His brother was cruel— and he would not be pleased to fight Sasuke while being so… _weak_, as he so liked to put it.

"You don't understand this at all Sasuke. I fully expect for them to catch you, there is no possible way that you won't be caught. You're going to be like a small rat sealed in a cage with large ugly mean cats. It's your connection that I am counting on to get you and the rest of my ninja out of there alive… hopefully."

"My… my connection?" Okay now he was fully confused. He had no idea what the old hag was going on about.

Rolling her eyes, Tsunade stopped looking through random papers and looked him dead in the eye once more. "Your. Brother." She studied him again and realizing that he was thoroughly confused she took pity on the youngest Uchiha and decided to show a bit of compassion.

"If you get captured I'll feel better knowing that there's a big chance you won't die. You're the only person that really has any hope of completeing this mission because if you get capture… Itachi will probably not let them kill you… so easily, at least. And that, Sasuke, means you're the only one that really stands a chance at doing any of this." 

"She's right Sasuke," Kakashi's voice was heard for the first time, managing to make the Uchiha jump slightly. He'd forgotten that his sensei was even in the room… but that really didn't bother him as much as what the old hag had just said. She didn't really believe that, did she?

"You're seriously trusting my life with that bastard?! You think I won't die just because he won't let them kill me?! You're out of your fucking mind! Itachi couldn't care less if I lived or died! Trust me on this…" He was frantically shaking his head. The thought of his brother getting his hands on him really managed to make his stomach turn. He couldn't believe what Tsunade was insinuating.

"You're obviously blind to the affection that he has for you Sasuke." And at those words Sasuke's eyes widened to saucers. He hadn't heard a joke that good in years… He laughed. He laughed hysterically.

"And YOU'RE obviously delusional, Tsunade-sama." He threw the envelopes back onto her desk, fully aware of what disrespect he was showing.

"Sasuke… I'm not saying that you're not in danger. I know very well that you might loose a hand or two. Hell, I might be mistaken about your brother altogether. But the fact is that if he had wanted you to die… you would have been dead long ago. He has always had a weakness for you and I fully intend on taking advantage of it. I don't think he'll let anyone hurt his baby brother…" She sighed and stood. "And if you can't do this, then Naruto will have to do." 

"No!" Sasuke shouted. It was bad enough that the old hag was gambling with _his_ life on a fucking whim she had that the evil psychopath of his brother might just take pity on him… but to risk Naruto's life too was just pushing on his nerves. This was insane…!

And even though everything about this planned seemed to be absurd… he already knew he would do it. Because he was an Uchiha. Was he sacred? Hell yeah. Was he going to die? He was almost certain. But he would rather go, and die trying to save people he didn't really care about, than let anyone know that his brother could get to him so much. He would rather go than risk Naruto being sent in his stead… If anything happened to Naruto…

No. He didn't want to think of such things. Sasuke was going to go and he was going to save Neji and Lee. He was going to try and find out what the Akatsuki was up to… and he would face his brother once again.

Clearing his throat, Sasuke asked the only question he really needed to know. "When do I leave?"

"Two days."

------------------

Sasuke looked over the information that Tsunade had given him one more time. It looked simple enough. The only problem was actually finding anything that made use to him while in their base. Sasuke couldn't help but let the fear of once more being trapped in that lethal weapon his brother liked to call eyes make him shudder.

And though in some ways he dreaded going there again… He dreaded fighting him again and having anything to do with that cold blooded murderer; he knew that he had to do this for himself. He had to move on… If only to make a point and show the dobe that he really was worthy of his name— that he really was an Uchiha.

The first thing he would do once he got there would be to look for Neji and Lee. Tsunade would forgive him if he came out of there alive with no information but with two very alive ninja.

Something that really was putting a downer on his day though was that he hadn't told Sakura yet… or Naruto. Now, he wasn't big on how relationships were supposed to work or anything, but he was pretty sure that leaving for a mission that could very well be the end of you, should be told to the people you cared about. Especially to your girlfriend who had a very hidden anger problem…

Sakura would have a fit when he came back if he left without saying anything to her first… well, that's if he did come back. And Naruto… well Naruto might just be stupid enough to follow him… he didn't want that thought to even go through the morons head though. This was _his_ mission. Itachi was his.

And that is why he had asked them both to come to his home— he would tell them tonight. He wasn't sure how Naruto would react, but he was fairly positive Sakura would bust out the tear parade on him. Sasuke scowled picturing Sakura rubbing off all her tears on his nice dry shirt… He decided he needed to take a cold shower before putting himself through such torture.

Cold water, too much soap, and little body heat made him shudder as he forced himself to relax. Sasuke sang to an unknown tune in his head. His hands washed over his tired body in an effort to give him some comfort. He knew though that it was all in vain. After all, a shower wasn't really what he wanted at the moment. He wanted… needed… sex. He was horny, and hell, if he was about to die, why not get a good lay before it happened, right? 

Sighing, Sasuke turned the facet off, opened the drapes and stepped out— no steam warmed the room as he stepped onto the icy cold floor. He wrapped a towel around his waist and walked up to the mirror. It was a routine that he'd been doing ever since his brother had abandoned him… As messed up as it was, he got comfort in staring at himself for long minutes, because if he stared long enough he would forget that he was Uchiha Sasuke… and he would see the man he hated most in this world.

He was the fucking spitting image of Uchiha Itachi…

That's why he hated reflections. That's why he hated mirrors. Because no matter how much you tried to cover it, they never lied to you. They always told you the truth even if it wasn't what you wanted to hear. And for Sasuke… a mirror only served to remind him of his worst enemy… of the one man that occupied his thoughts day and night.

So… he broke it. He broke the mirror with his bloody fist— because he was weak like that— because his brother was right about him... He broke it because any reminder of the damned bloody murder only made his blood boil in anger that hurt him in that horrible way that made his heart clench.

Even though Itachi was no longer by his side… The murderer lived in his head and he couldn't lie to himself about that. And if it hadn't been for a certain blonde, he would have gone mad a long time ago. Sasuke was frightened of the power his brother held over him. How with only a few words his anaki could crush him like no one could… Itachi always seemed to pull emotions to the surface while talking to him.

If his bastard brother wanted to kill him, he very well could. But strangely enough he secretly believed what Tsunade had told him. Itachi wouldn't kill him… he wouldn't let him be killed either. But it wasn't his brother that he was scared of though. No, he was scared of loosing himself. Of letting himself get in too deep with self hatred and self pity that he would truly become as weak as his brother had always accused him of being… so weak that even Itachi would finally have enough of him…

Sasuke heard footsteps. Naruto was there early. He thought that was pretty odd considering on how stuck on hate the blonde was at the moment. Though he shouldn't be complaining… perhaps he would finally get a chance to speak with him alone. Without Sakura's interference… 

He walked out of his bathroom in only his towel. His damp wet hair clinging to his neck, and droplets of water skimming down his frame. Sasuke knew exactly how he looked at the moment— like a sex god. And he only smirked when he saw his dobe look at him, eyes opened wider than normal, and lips parted a fraction.

Naruto didn't look too bad himself.

"You could have knocked," Sasuke mumbled quietly as he walked up to his dresser, pulling out a pair of sweats.

"Yeah… sorry, old habit." Naruto turned around, giving him a bit of privacy to change. Not that Sasuke really cared, but he thought it was… sweet.

"Well… I guess I should tell you," He pulled the sweat pants up and ran a hand through his wet hair, "That I'm going on a mission and… I'm going to be gone for a while."

Naruto turned around to face him, and Sasuke wasn't sure what he saw in the dobe's eyes. He wasn't sure what it was that he _wanted_ to see in those blue eyes. All he knew was that he was getting angry for absolutely no reason.

The blonde raised an eyebrow at him and sighed. "So what, you want me to wish you good luck?" Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, watching Sasuke with something akin to amusement.

"Naruto… I'm leaving tomorrow." To say he was shocked was an understatement. The moron didn't even bulge in his high and mighty act. He watched the blonde silently, studying his face for any sort of reaction that might hold some kind of worry. This was awkward… And he wasn't sure if he was supposed to say anything because usually when it involved his dobe he was always throwing insults at him. And right now he was sure that would only worsen his situation.

"Where are you going?" Naruto was hesitant in his question, but it seemed that the moron was finally getting the idea. He finally understood that Sasuke might not be coming back…

"Mission." That was all his blond was going to get because he really wasn't allowed to talk about it.

Silence lured between the two for a few minutes and Sasuke discovered that his dobe wasn't a big bright ball of orange… He was wearing a blue T-shirt with black sweats— he had probably worked out. His blonde hair was messy, but then again, that wasn't really new.

"You kept me from the mission?" Naruto asked quietly, looking at him sternly. And that did it. Sasuke wanted to yell out just how stupid Naruto really was.

Usually Tsunade paired them up on missions… or if it was a one man job, Naruto was sent. But it wasn't as if though he had killed to get the damned mission. He didn't even really want to go. And it wasn't that he thought Naruto couldn't handle himself… but he agreed with Tsunade about him being the only one that really had a chance of making it out of there alive.

"Hai," He lied, not really caring what Naruto thought of it. He wanted to irk the blonde anyways.

"Right… Well I hope you die." Naruto had this look of such seriousness that didn't quite fit with his usual goofy one. It made Sasuke laugh… hard. And apparently his dobe thought it was pretty funny too because in less than a second he was laughing just as hard.

It took a few coughs and attempts at trying not to choke on air before they were finally able to get a hold of themselves again. "I don't do well with apologies," Sasuke stated finally. He didn't want to do what Naruto had done. He didn't want to leave on a mission without fixing things first… 

And it wasn't like he _was_ going to apologize anyways. If Naruto needed an apology he had just gotten as close to one was he was going to get. If he wanted something better than that then he'd definitely have to go to Sakura. But he hoped his idiot would get the idea and just forgive him for whatever sin he'd committed… "And I don't do well with people either… that's your calling," he continued. 

Sasuke knew he had finally broken through the cold shell Naruto had been putting up to protect himself for the last few weeks. And he knew this because the look his dobe was giving him was that look that always made him get this warm feeling inside… It was the same look that had convinced him he had something to live for when he had returned from the snake's lair. "Do you want something to drink?"

The last thing he needed right now was a drunken Naruto. That _always_ brought forth problems… always. But hey, he was trying to get on the idiot's good side, so he'd use bribery if the need called for it.

Grabbing one of the small bottles on his desk, he poured the red liquid into two empty glasses. He gave one to Naruto and smiled before he swallowed the bubbly substance down his throat. 

"Maybe you should put a shirt on, baka." Naruto laughed again, spilling some of that red liquid down his chin. 

"Perhaps, but then if I do, I won't get to see you squirm… and I do so enjoy seeing you squirm." He laughed as Naruto avoided his eyes and finished the rest of his alcohol. 

"Try not to die on the mission." Naruto shouted, apparently thinking Sasuke was deaf.

"Don't worry. At least this time you won't be there to slow me down and I won't have to worry about saving your ass," He smiled as Naruto began to curse… "And I won't have to listen to your annoying voice either. Hell, I think I'll be better off than ever, actually."

"I kissed Sakura." Naruto's eyes went to the floor as he put the glass down on Sasuke's desk and immediately went tense.

Well… What a way to kill a mood. "Excuse me?" Sasuke could have sworn he heard Naruto say he had kissed his girlfriend… _his_ girlfriend.

"You heard me baka, I kissed your bitch." 

Now normally Sasuke would give the offending person time to explain themselves. But for some unexplainable reason his feet moved of their own accord— as did his fist— punching Naruto straight in the jaw.

Naruto didn't hold back though, the blonde retaliated by bucking Sasuke into a wall as he yelled something unintelligible.

Naruto held him against the wall, the blonde's hand pressing his face into the bumpy surface. "Get off of me!" Sasuke yelled out as he pushed backwards, his feet giving him the force to push the blonde away, giving him enough space to retract and gain the upper hand as his fist connected with Naruto's stomach.

The blonde laughed as he stumbled backwards, regaining his balance before he was able to fall. "What? Did you think I would just sit there and let you make a fool of me?!" Naruto laughed wickedly and for a moment he couldn't tell if his friend had lost his mind. "I kissed her Sasuke… and she liked every bit of it. She even begged me to fuck her!" Naruto started walking towards him and Sasuke grew increasingly worried for his friend's sanity. "What's the matter Sasuke… are you not good enough? Or perhaps you're not _big_ enough," He laughed again.

Sasuke growled, throwing his foot up in the air in an attempt to kick the idiot into a wall or something. However, it didn't go quite as planned because his dobe managed to get a hold of his leg and he twisted it, pulling hard, making him fall to the ground in humiliation. In a last minute action Sasuke managed to curve his leg just right so it would be between Naruto's own, unbalancing the already unbalanced idiot and knocking him down right along with him.

In less then a second he maneuvered their bodies so that he was now on top of the cursing blonde— trapping him down and pinning his hands above his head. "You were always a horrible liar," Sasuke hissed into the moron's ear. "Sakura wouldn't beg _you_." 

Naruto glared at him from underneath and struggled against him. Smirking, the Uchiha pressed his knee into the blonde's most private part, strangling a laugh as Naruto immediately went still, his eyes widening to saucers.

"Get the fuck off me bastard! What, are you now planning to _rape_ me?!" Naruto screamed.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you Naruto-_chan_?"Sasuke smiled as Naruto's eyes surprisingly widened even more. He made a point of pressing his knee further into Naruto's sensitive area… That look on the dobe's face was priceless.

"Why were you flaunting her around Naruto?" Sasuke wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. Or for that matter if he even really cared. It was Naruto's business who he dated. But it wouldn't hurt to know if his friend really did like that poor excuse for a woman. He had already seen her and she wasn't all that pretty… she was a whore if you asked him. But everyone seemed to think that it was a big deal… the whole fucking village, actually. Everyone kept telling him that Naruto had found true love… Ino and Kiba were huge gossips though, so he made a point not to take what they said to heart. 

"What's the matter teme, jealous?" Naruto heaved, but the Uchiha couldn't ignore the fact that his question had been ignored.

"Is there something to be jealous of?" Sasuke pressed into Naruto's body even more, earning a strangled cry from the blonde underneath him. This really was so much fun… he wondered why he hadn't done this before. "I don't like the idea of you together with her… But I don't think I have to be jealous of her," And to further emphasize his point he pressed into Naruto's sweet spot once more.

"Stop that you bastard!" Naruto cried, getting more desperate as each minute passed by… and his erection grew.

"I think you like it," Sasuke whispered as he leaned down and brushed his lips gently against Naruto's. "And I don't think you want me to stop," His tongue licked Naruto's bottom lip, sending a surge of pride to his ego as the body underneath him trembled in pleasure.

He felt Naruto push into him as his knee continued to put pressure in that place he knew could drive a man mad. He bit down lightly on the blonde's bottom lip, hoping the man would just give and open his damned mouth so he could deepen the kiss. He felt a surge of pleasure as Naruto's tongue met his and he moaned silently into the kiss. 

Sasuke released Naruto's hands, running his own up and down the blonde's sides. Feeling him up in a way in which he had never done before… it felt surprisingly good to touch him like that. His hand found its way under Naruto's shirt and he immediately seeked out his prize. Plucking and pinching that small stub with his fingers— he fully enjoyed the gasps that Naruto gave as he writhed beneath him. His lips found the dobe's neck, lightly leaving small biting marks and slowly tracing his way all the way back up to his chin.

"Sasuke!" Naruto managed to squeak before his lips were once again consumed in a breath taking kiss. He wrapped his arms around the Uchiha's neck, pressing his member harder against Sasuke's own erection.

"You're right," Sasuke whispered against Naruto's lips… loving the way his blonde looked at him in complete stupor. He gave a small smirk before leaning down to give the idiot one last sweet kiss. "We should stop." 

"Wha—what?!" Naruto stuttered as Sasuke stood and left him on the floor in what seemed to be a pile of goo.

"You're a moron Naruto… get the fuck out of my house." Sasuke said as he stared down in amusement at the blonde. He really looked like nothing less than a mess… but it wasn't a terrible sight.

Naruto glared at him in pure hatred. And for a second it nerved the Uchiha a bit that he had taken it so much to heart… Oh fucking well though. It wasn't his problem Naruto had gotten an erection. He sure as hell wasn't about to take care of the idiots problem. Besides, Sakura was about to get there and he was pretty sure his girlfriend wouldn't enjoy seeing him feel up the dobe… though it had been pretty nice.

"Whatever jackass," Naruto growled, as he stood up and walked away from him.

"Hey Naruto… You should brush your teeth if you expect Ako to keep humoring you," He said as an after thought… He was a bit surprised that Naruto didn't stop to throw back his own insult, like he usually would. 

His dobe walked away without say a word to him… And for some reason Sasuke felt like he had done something incredibly wrong.

------- End Chapter----------


	10. True Colors Shine

Chapter Ten— True Colors Shine

"What are the stars for if not to take delight in them?" She smiled contentedly, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

"To give hope… that maybe something greater than us is out there?" Naruto whispered, more so to himself than to her. He wrapped his arms tighter around her, inhaling her scent deeply. Loving the way the night always seemed to be so beautiful when you looked at it from Mount Hokage.

"Well, they certainly are pretty tonight…" Ako flicked away a stray hair from his face, looking into his eyes and letting a small smirk take over. "But I can think of something even more beautiful."

"Sounds like a corny line I would use," Naruto smiled as he pressed his lips against hers, his hand trailing down her back.

"Well maybe if you talked a little more I wouldn't have to use corny lines." She leaned back in to press a kiss or two against his lips, and Naruto could have sworn he had butterflies in his stomach…

In a way it was serene, to be like _this_ with someone… especially when you had never seen it coming. Naruto had always been a pretty open person— he did say so himself. It was just that it had taken him a bit by surprise when he realized that he no longer wanted to be alone. It had been more of a conviction than anything else. He didn't particularly think that there was anything wrong with it. He knew better than to feel guilty over wanting to have someone close… _like this_…. It was perfectly normal. Human nature, even. But it wouldn't have been terribly bad if it had been with the people he _really_ loved. He was done denying it… he was done making excuses to cover his true feelings. Naruto wasn't going to lie to himself anymore. He knew what he felt. He knew he loved them… both. He knew what he wanted.

And perhaps it was messed up, crazy, and completely abnormal. He didn't give a fuck though… because it didn't matter. None of it mattered anymore. It was never going to happen. He had never stood a chance with them anyway… their heads were way too big for them to be able to see past their own perfection. So Naruto had made up his mind to concentrate on this… This feeling that Ako caused in him every time she touched him.

He would forget the pain in his chest that came every time he saw them… every time he'd have to suppress his instincts and hold himself back. Naruto would learn to love Ako. He had to— for his own sanity.

And on the way he'd make her realize that this… this thing that they had together could work out. It could work for them. They could be an item. Maybe… just maybe, she didn't need other people. Maybe she could need him as much as he needed her. They could use each other to forget. He _would_ use her to forget them. Maybe they could be happy.

"What do you want from me?" He whispered, cupping her cheek, enjoying the feel of her breath as it so very closely fanned his face.

"I want you to want me," Her small delicate hands snaked under his shirt, small golden hairs tickling her fingers gently.

"I do want you," Naruto connected their mouths again… because he needed this. He needed something real in his life, something stable… something that wouldn't betray him.

Ako was refreshingly different than everyone else. She didn't see him as a monster or mock him like his friends did. She wasn't cruel like a certain Uchiha he knew. Cruel enough to give him hope that maybe he was good enough, that maybe he could be loved by those he cherished most, only to have him take it all away so harshly. It had all been a joke for Sasuke.

Naruto should have known better than to fall for such lies. There was a small part of him that wanted to believe that he was maybe good enough to experience true love. A part of him wanted to believe that maybe Sasuke's kiss had meant something. Maybe Sasuke hadn't been completely messing with his head… maybe the bastard had felt something for him. Maybe it wasn't a complete show of mockery— to lessen his value as another human being— to completely take away all the fucking pride he had left. 

He knew better than to believe that though… He knew better.

When it all came back to it though, Naruto had already known. He'd known that they would _never_ see him for who he truly was. He never stood a chance. Life for the Kuuybi would never be a good one. "I want you," He whispered in between a kiss, his tongue clashing harshly with Ako's. "I want you," His hands pulled her shirt over her neck, throwing it to the side in a desperate heat. "I _need_ you," And even though his mind was completely made up, even though he wanted this more than he wanted anything else in that moment… he knew. He already knew that he would end up regretting this later. He knew himself so well… He knew this would come back to haunt him somehow.

But that devil voice in the back of his head that had always gotten him into trouble when he was a child kept talking to him… pushing him forward. Kept whispering things to him— _can life truly be lived to its fullest if you never have any regrets? _

"Then stop thinking so much and just do what you want to do," She said as she smiled at him, giving him an ease of the whole situation. He was a bit surprised when he felt her hands squeeze his buttocks sensually.

But it felt good…

He rolled over so that he was now on top of her— figuring that if he was finally going to really loose his virginity, then he'd at least have control of it. "Make me want you more," He whispered seductively into her ear, unclasping the small hooks in the front of her bra that held it together, watching as her breasts suddenly became nude before him.

Ako wrapped her legs around his waist, leaning up to leave pleasurable bites along his neck as she unbuttoned the navy blue shirt that he had been wearing. "I'm going to make you scream."

"Make me forget… make me think of only you," He begged… he needed this so badly. He needed to feel this for someone… anyone… anyone but _them_. 

Their clothes were dispersed of in a frenzy, in which they proceeded to rub sensually against each other afterwards. Naruto was having a hard time forming any coherent sentences— all he could think about was the way her touches left him so hot and bothered. The way her mouth did such wonderful things to his small pink nipple, biting down and manipulating it with her tongue… The way her kisses flushed him so completely, making him want more… so much more.

His erection was painful as he rubbed it against her wet pussy. Her moans making him shiver, his body wanting, begging for more... He bit down on her soft breast, ignoring and avoiding her erect nipple, loving how she whined as pleasure was neglected from her at his tease. His hands traveled down her stomach, feeling every sensual curve.

Naruto smiled as his fingers brushed against a patch of soft hair, gently brushing the skin above her sweet spot. Loving how she moaned in agony at not being granted what she most wanted in that moment. He chuckled slightly, leaning in for a gentle kiss as he pressed his palm against her sex. "Moan for me," He whispered as his fingers played with her.

She writhed beneath him in pleasure, enjoying how he stimulated her with his fingers, slowly and gently gracing small circle movements against her folds… teasing her clit with the slightest touch as she rocked herself against his hand.

She groaned in disapproval when Naruto removed his hand, bringing it to his face and taking a deep breath as he inhaled her scent. He grinned as he licked his fingers, watching her closely, licking his lips and lowering himself, placing his mouth right where he knew she wanted it.

Massaging her thighs, Naruto's smile grew when the small woman before him bucked her hips forward, wanting him to just give her the pleasure she knew would be great. He blew his breath on her, watching in small fascination as she clenched herself and bucked harder. He needed this.

He inhaled before diving in, his tongue invading the privacy of her outer lips, going in to explore even deeper the inside of her sensitive folds. He drank down her taste, enjoying the bitter taste of her salty liquids. Her sex throbbed against his face as he attacked her small pink labia. He felt his own body becoming increasingly hot— he knew soon he would need more than this… much more.

Naruto's tongue found her entrance, licking the outside and teasing her slowly before plunging in completely. "Oh gods," She moaned as her hands grasped his head, pushing him deeper into her. "Fuck me Naruto," She groaned out. "Fuck me with your tongue!"

Naruto allowed himself to explore her freely. His tongue feeling up the roughness inside her, drinking up her taste in a bit of desperation… His hands held her hips down as much as possible, as she bucked crazily under him.

Suddenly though, Ako pulled him back up by his shoulders, looking into his eyes as the lust glazed over her own. "Fuck me." She said and managed to scare him a bit. He knew what that meant.

And he wanted to… he was ready.

Naruto placed his hand on her hip, positioning himself between her legs, readying himself for the intrusion that he knew would bring him to his release. "Do it," She whispered to him seductively, closing her eyes and relaxing into his body.

He easily slipped into her wet entrance, loving how there was absolutely no resistance against him. He sighed before biting down on her neck— experimentally pulling his erection out— before pushing right back in. "Oh Naruto…" She moaned, gyrating her hips against him.

He started a slow smooth rhythm, wanting this to last forever as his body trembled, his heart pounding in his chest. His groans became louder, his moans frequent, knowing he would soon reach his peak.

Placing her hands on his ass again, Ako pulled him closer to her, wanting him deeper inside her, her walls constricting around his manhood. "Ako," Naruto moaned, biting her nipple once more.

He pushed in, pulled out, pushed in and pulled out… "Just a little more," He whispered, feeling his victory as it was just around the corner, feeling his release about to be given to him… "Just a little more."

And there it was.

Ako clamped down on him once more as she took pleasure in her own orgasm, finally milking him— giving him that satisfaction of spilling his seed deep into a woman's womb. His body shook against hers, their sweat mingling in together… the smell of sex in the air satisfying them both.

"Thank you," Naruto whispered into her ear as he pulled himself out.

They laid in silence for a while; Naruto's head rested on her bare breast… he felt as if though everything would be okay again. Ako wasn't the best person to start a relationship with, he knew this, but she was a great person to let yourself forget things with. She was sweet, kind, and honest. He needed that… he needed her.

His fingers entwined with hers, he squeezed gently, trying to show how thankful he was for letting him do such things to her… Things he knew you shouldn't let just anyone do. She hadn't said anything to him yet, and he was a bit worried that maybe he hadn't been so great… that maybe she had regretted it.

Naruto wasn't going to think such thoughts though, he wasn't going to let himself panic until _she_ said something to him. He was going to enjoy the aftermath of sex, he was going to bask in how complete he felt… in how…

What…? 

"Ako," He hissed as the sting of a needle sunk into the skin of his neck. "What are you doing?!" His vision became suddenly blurry— he closed his eyes in an effort to regain some control over his own body.

"Shhh… it's going to be okay Naruto. Don't fight it… its less painful that way… I promise." Ako whispered to him as she cupped his cheek, patting it until he felt unconsciousness get a grip on him.

"Why?" Was the last thing he was able to get out before he was enveloped in the blackness… feeling nothing but hollowness in his wake. 

-------------------

Ako bowed before her master, her eyes closed as she shivered in the cold, the danger of knowing she was completely alone amongst the puppet master and the explosion freak making her tenser than normal. She didn't dare say a word until she was spoken to, she knew better than that.

"You've done well… and the rest?" Her master asked as the blond beside him kicked Naruto's body playfully. Her master's voice was gruff, as if though he hadn't spoken in a long time and it greatly displeased him to do so even now.

"I am working on it, but she hasn't granted me access to anything of importance yet," She replied in a low voice, daring to look up from behind her eyelashes. "I _will_ give you what you need, master."

"Good, do not disappoint us… go back to those morons and tell them that you were attacked on Mount Hokage by ninja that were carrying the symbol of Sand. Do what ever you need to do to find the specifics on the position of every ninja protecting the Leaf. We need specifics if this is going to work… we need to know every single little detail, and we need to know their every single strategy and back up plan. I don't care if you have to seduce her..." Her master started to walk away from them, allowing his partner to do the rest of the work. The blond picked up Naruto's unconscious form and threw it over his shoulder easily, as if though Naruto didn't weigh a single pound.

"Know that I will kill you if you end up being useless to us." The man churred as he smiled cruelly at her. In a way he sounded almost playful, as if though he were joking. She knew better though, she'd seen his wrath before. He was serious— dead serious. There was no way for her to get out of this… and she wasn't going to try.

"Of course," She bowed once more and jumped into a tree, disappearing into the night as she hurried herself back to the Village of Konoha… Forming the words in her head that she would use to tell the story she had been commanded to tell to the woman that would save her ass.

If she was going to be completely honest with herself though— it wasn't all that hard lying to innocent people anymore. She had learned to accept that this was her fate. Because if she even thought about betraying her master, he would certainly kill her, and he would make it painful.

She was one of his best pets, trained well and ready to die for him at any moment if it need be. She wasn't read to give up her whole life's work, her love for her master, just for a few people that had treated her nicely. She knew she was completely crazy. She understood that perhaps this really wasn't her… or better yet, she _knew_ that it really wasn't her and that she was very much being manipulated… but she didn't care. Even the hand of god couldn't save her from her master's hold on her.

She was trapped forever in the hollowness of his spell. Ako forgot what it meant to be happy— she didn't want to think of it either. Her existence didn't really have that much importance… She understood this and she accepted it… She was just another puppet. She loved her master and hated him all at the same time. The lies he'd told her at first… and the truths that came with those lies… The fairytale of being immortal— yet loosing your very soul because of it. Ako was crazy— demented. She knew what she was. She was dead— dead with no purpose— the only thing she lived for was to bring her master happiness and to avoid the pain that he so loved to bestow upon her at every little excuse he got.

As far out as it seemed, as crazy and demented as it was, she loved it all. She loved the lies, she loved the power she got from being her masters most used pet. The others feared her… She loved knowing things others didn't, the power surge that came from taking the bleeding essence that gave life to another human being— she loved it all.

Arriving at her latest victim's apartment building, she smiled, walking up the steps that led to apartment number six. Ako thought of what she would say, but it really made no difference, and she didn't know why she was even trying to make this less painful for the woman. It really wasn't her problem anyway. She had one goal, one purpose. She knew that her cover story would raise suspicions… but it didn't matter because that was the cover story she had been given and her master expected her to use it.

She was mildly surprised when the red door suddenly opened and the woman she had come to see stood before her with a gruff grin. She wasn't going to beat around the bush though… "We were attacked… Naruto was taken and… and…" She watched as Anko's grin fell immediately at her words, and the woman's eyes widened.

Ako felt the fake tears pour sourly from her eyes….

"What happened Ako? Who took Naruto?" Anko's voice was calm, professional, but she could see the worry in woman's eyes. "Tell me what happened!"

The older woman shook her shoulders roughly, Ako found it rather amusing how only moments ago she was cool, clam, collected, only to break seconds later because she was taking a few seconds extra to answer her question.

"We were attacked… they took him. The ninja from the sand… they took him." Ako whispered as her eyes widened, giving the impression that she had only just realized how big the situation really was… She inwardly patted herself, she would have made a great actor.

Anko embraced her and she found herself clutching the older woman's back. Loving how the experienced woman's heart pounded within her chest. "You've got to get him back," Ako whispered before she buried her face into the woman's sweaty neck. Loving how warm and cozy she was… Loving the power she held over the woman that was in charge of Konoha's security.

---------End Chapter-------

AN: Hey guys! I hope you reviewwwwwwwwwww:d


	11. Its all been bottled up until Now

Chapter eleven— Its all Been Bottled up Until Now

"Okay, so let me get this straight… Ninja's carrying the symbol of the Sand attacked you for absolutely no reason… Naruto wasn't a match for them and couldn't do anything about it…?" Kakashi's one visible eye was arched, and it was obvious that he didn't buy a single word the young girl was telling him, "They took him and let you go without a single scratch."

"Yes… that is exactly what happened." Ako looked right into the Hokage's eye… a rather bold move to make under such circumstances. It seemed though that the girl had no intention of changing that ridiculous story of hers. Sakura could have sworn the girl rolled her eyes when Tsunade looked away.

She wanted to kill that bitch. She wanted to rip her throat out and hurt her in every way that came to her mind at the time. She wasn't retarded, Sakura could see through those lies that the girl kept spitting out, even if everyone else was too blind to see them… she knew it was all bullshit.

"So did they say anything to you, what they might want, perhaps?" Kakashi spoke up before Sakura was able to actually formulate her thoughts into words…. The bitch was lucky too.

"No, they didn't say anything at all… the man had a kunai to my throat and told me to be still… the next thing I knew they were all jumping away. I was scared so I ran straight to Anko…" Ako chose that exact moment to grasp onto the older woman's hand.

It made Sakura sick.

"I don't believe you," Was Sakura's simple input. She wasn't going to go around the bush like everyone else… she knew Kakashi had his doubts too, but unlike her sensei, she wasn't about to indulge the little bitch in her game.

"And exactly what is that supposed to mean?!" Anko asked, looking a bit disoriented— sort of like a fish lost in the sea. The pink haired shinobi hadn't realized that this woman who had such great power could actually be this naïve…

How could it not be obvious that Ako was feeding them nothing but lies? 

"I mean _exactly_ that! I refuse to believe that some petty ninja's were just able to beat OUR Naruto so easily! He's stronger than most of us here, excluding you, Tsunade-sama." How could they not see it? It was fucking slapping them in the face and they did nothing about it! How could they just allow Ako to be in their presence, unpunished?! Sakura didn't have time for this… they were supposed to be out searching. They were supposed to be doing _something_…. Anything!

"But they were strong!" Apparently Ako had a dick or something, she continued talking, doing her best to convince the occupants of the room.

The pink haired shinobi snarled at the woman who was obviously responsible for her friend's abduction… Sakura had nothing to prove her theory with, of course, but just looking at the girl she could tell that she was guilty. "Well they were obviously not strong enough."

"What do you mean?" Ako's eyes narrowed a fraction, not at all liking how she was all but being interrogated as if though she had committed the crime.

"She means that there weren't any chakra signatures to be tracked… No sign of anyone being on Mount Hokage but Naruto and you." Anko's face paled, her hand squeezing onto Ako's tighter… Sakura felt like she could puke at the sight. "But you know as well as we do, Sakura, that that could also just mean that they were good enough to hide their chakra signals."

"I still don't believe that just anyone could beat Naruto up like that! Are you really telling me that this doesn't sound like a load of bullshit to you?! Food fuck's sake Anko… there weren't even ANY fucking signs of a fight! How could there not be any traces of a fight, when it's _Naruto_ that we're talking about!" It seemed to Sakura that the woman was willing to bypass all the clues in her face in order to save her lesbian lover.

"Enough! We will not accuse each other unless we have sound proof! Everyone is dismissed except for Sakura." Sakura jumped as Tsunade slammed her palms on her desk, and she briefly admired the old piece of wood for not breaking on the spot… she wished she had that kind of strength. Though as soon as she caught herself wishing she was an old desk, she shook her head. 

She growled as Anko and Ako left the Hokage's office, hand in hand, the older woman leaning on Ako as if though she were about to fall… When had the older woman lost all self respect? It seemed as if though that bitch was able to make a fool out of everyone though, even Naruto. Ako had somehow managed to get him to fall for her… and if Ako had been able to do that to Naruto, who was one of the most careful people she knew, then Sakura really couldn't blame Anko for her sins.

As soon as Kakashi closed the door behind him, Tsunade started to scarily bark at her, "You will do nothing unless I tell you to do something! Is this understood?!"

Sakura blinked, her hands playing nervously with each other under her red blouse… it was an old habit she thought she had broken a long time ago… Every once in a while though, she found herself doing it when she was nervous...

How could the Hokage really expect her to do nothing?

"Sakura, you won't help Naruto by going out and getting captured…" Tsunade's voice was softer, soothing even, and Sakura closed her eyes, thinking of some way to explain to her mentor all the mixed feelings she was having at that moment.

"I can't just sit here and do _nothing_." The Hokage obviously didn't understand what Sakura was going through. She couldn't see what this meant for her… Naruto _couldn't_ be gone. She had to see her blonde again… she had to be able to touch him again. She had to press her lips against his again; she had to stare into those ocean blue eyes again… She had to apologize for being a fucking idiot! She had to tell him everything that he made her feel… she had to see that smile that had always secretly made butterflies explode in her stomach!

Sakura couldn't loose Naruto… She couldn't ever loose Naruto.

"I know how you're feeling Sakura… but I have another mission for you, and it requires your presence in Konoha." Tsunade sat down on her chair tiredly, rubbing the back of her neck as she stretched her right arm. "I don't trust that girl… The only other person that I can think of to do this is Anko, but as you can see, she is way to emotionally attached. So I need you to watch the girl's every move. You are to report to me every two days."

Sakura let the words sink in her head… this was what she wanted to do. She wanted to catch that bitch with her hands in the cookie jar. It would be so gloriously awesome if she was able to plunge a kunai threw her heart once she had all the proof she needed to declare her guilty. "Who will go after Naruto?" She asked hesitantly… she wanted to prove Ako guilty, but not at the price of loosing her blonde. A part of her wanted to deny this mission completely and go after Naruto instead; she couldn't stand the thought of her Love suffering while in danger of dying. "Sasuke needs to know," The words passed her lips before she had even thought them.

Sasuke would definitely go after him once he found out, of that she was certain. And strangely enough, he was the only one that she trusted with her blonde's life at the moment. No one would try harder to bring Naruto back than Sasuke. No one cared for Naruto like Sakura and Sasuke did. She needed the Uchiha to bring the blonde back to her— she needed to hold them both in her arms… together… and safe. "Someone needs to tell him."

"Sasuke is on a mission, he probably won't find out until he returns. The ANBU are doing all they can do right now… The best thing we can do right now is have patience… let the ANBU do their job." Tsunade looked weary, and it looked like she was on the verge of crying, and for the first time Sakura realized that Tsunade must be in about as much pain as she was.

"There's something you're not telling me," Her voice came out weaker than she had intended, but really, she had just found out she was in love with a man that had been kidnapped by the worst kind of criminals that were out there. Could you really blame her? She was scared that she would never see those blue eyes again… that he would never find out how she really felt about him…

Sakura was terrified that he would die thinking she hated him.

Sighing, Tsunade closed her eyes for a few moments, weighing the option of telling her everything there was to know about the situation at hand. Sakura watched with mild interest as her sensei's eyes were furrowed in deep concentration… and she felt a sense of dread settle in the pit of her stomach.

"I believe somehow the Akatsuki are involved in this. I can't be completely sure though. You know as well as I do that they've been after the kyuubi for a long time. They're the only ones I believe would be strong enough to do this… and smart enough to cover up their tracks so well." The Hokage's voice held the remnants of horror… and for a second Sakura's eyes widened in deep fear.

The Akatsuki. Itachi. Sasuke. Naruto. Kyuubi.

They were all connected… it was all a horrible cycle and they would always in the end come after her blonde. Though that didn't explain Ako, because for some reason, no matter how much the raven haired girl didn't fit in the picture, Sakura refused to believe that she was innocent. She wondered what sorts of links Ako had to the Akatsuki… how involved she really was with their down to the root plans.

"We have to save him…" Sakura stated the obvious. She didn't care if they had to go against the most dangerous organization around… she didn't care if Sasuke had to face Itachi once again… and hell, she didn't care if people died.

Naruto had to live. Naruto had to survive for her and for Sasuke. She couldn't imagine living her life without her sunshine around to make everything easier for her… she couldn't imagine life without him.

"Well… that _is_ the idea, Sakura. You realize you must be very secretive about what we have just discussed…" In that moment, Tsunade was no longer her mentor or friend, she was her Hokage. She was laying down the ground rules, and in order for Sakura to play this game, she had to obey… in order for her to win, she had to submit. Konoha's secrets were what they had always been: _Konoha's_ secrets.

"Of course, Tsunade-sama, but if you'll allow me, there is something else that worries me," With a nod from the Hokage, Sakura continued, "If Akatsuki are really the ones behind all of this, do you really think that a single squad of ANBU will be enough to stop them?"

Tsunade sighed, sincerely curious as to when it had been that her apprentice had grown a brain, "Uchiha has been sent on a mission that is in a way very much connected with the events that have transpired. If he succeeds, he might be Naruto's only hope."

Sakura nodded, understanding the seriousness of the situation, completely prepared to act like a professional shinobi. She had to act like she knew what she was doing… she had to find Ako out, she had to do her best… if she messed anything up, she might not ever see Naruto again.

------End Chapter-------


	12. A Triangle of Unwanted Love

Chapter Twelve— A Triangle of Unwanted Love

Sasuke felt a small droplet of sweat traveling down his forehead as he looked ahead, hills and hills of grass stood between him and his destination. He was tired beyond belief but he knew that he had to keep going if he was to reach Jiraiya in four days. The lives of Neji and Lee were on the line and he knew he couldn't very well take the privilege of taking his sweet time.

Two days he'd been traveling now, stopping only when absolutely necessary… He secretly thanked Orochimaru's harsh training, for if it hadn't been for the sick treatment he received while in the snake's care, he probably wouldn't have been able to keep going this long with so little rest. And if you add to that a few years of being a professional shinobi, his situation wasn't too bad.

He wasn't going to lie to himself though… he was a bit nervous. He hadn't been on such a dangerous mission in years. He knew he was one of the best ninja's that Konoha had… but still, years of doing easy jobs did tend to make people slack, and now he was sort of whishing he had taken Lee up on those offers to train like crazy! The last fight he had fought that was even a slight bit as dangerous as this one was the one where he fought the snake with nothing but the intention to kill. And that was a long, long time ago. He supposed he could probably still take him on though, because really it had nothing to do with whether or not he had the skill— he was, after all, an Uchiha. He wasn't questioning his skills, he _knew_ he could get into the Akatsuki's lair— he knew that Tsunade was probably right about his brother too… but still, he was nervous as hell about the whole mission in general!

Then add to that the fact that he didn't even want to be there, that Lee and Neji weren't even all that close to him, that he really could give a fuck if they lived or died… Well, that little tad bit of information just seemed to make it all the worse for him. Sasuke couldn't imagine anything worse than dying for something he didn't care about. He supposed though, that even though he REALLY didn't want to admit it, just the thought of the smile Naruto would surely give him when he found out that his friends had survived because of him, was more than enough to make all the trouble worth it in the end.

Ugh, Sakura's mushy shit really was _not_ becoming of him.

Sasuke wiped his forehead, wishing that he had his forehead protector with him to prevent the sweat from dripping into his eyes. He took out his canteen and quickly slugged down the liquid, enjoying how his dry throat was immediately refreshend. He had four days to go, traveling like this, in this weather, and alone. It wasn't hot, per say, but jumping from tree to tree all day did tend to make him sweat like any other normal human being.

Really though, Sasuke wouldn't be having so many complaints if it wasn't for the fact that under his current circumstances, he was mostly left alone with nothing more than his thoughts. He hated the fact that since he had taken off on his mission, the only thing on his mind had basically been his current predicament with Naruto and Sakura. He really didn't know why the hell he even cared so much. Hell, if Naruto found out about the thought's he'd been having lately, he'd never let him live it down. Sasuke honestly thought that seeing a blur of pink and blonde at random times and in the most unexpected places every thirty minutes was really not healthy… and because of his inability to keep his mind on the right track, he found that he had to keep his eyes open at all times, else he'd get lost in the musings of his love life…

Ugh.

The young Uchiha couldn't understand why he was suddenly having all these feelings. Feelings that were way beyond any normal friendship he'd ever had before… feelings that were intimate on a whole different level. He laughed silently, because the thought of Naruto and the word intimate placed together in the same sentence, was surprisingly funny… And it really was ironic how he finally got time away from the two people that were causing him nothing but mental torment, and yet his brain for some reason deemed it necessary to only think about them.

For starters, he really, really had to stress the fact that he DIDN'T like them! He liked nothing about them. Sakura was nothing if not clingy! She always found the need to hang all over him! She was whiney most of the time, she was needy, and she was annoying. She always wanted him to do things that were just NOT him. If he had to actually come up with one thing he liked about her, really the only thing he could give her props on was her tight pussy and her nice supple breasts. Sasuke wasn't going to lie— she was great in bed. But she was just not marriage material… and yet he couldn't deem anyone else worthy enough to reproduce an Uchiha.

Then there was Naruto, the biggest idiot on the face of the planet. A guy whom he could not confide his secrets in, for he knew the next day everyone would probably know them. A guy who acted like he understood him so completely, and yet Sasuke knew that it wasn't possible for Naruto to understand him… he was way too innocent…

Childlike even.

Still, amongst such facts, Sasuke could never forget that Naruto had been the only person that had even slightly mattered to him after his family's massacre. When everyone thought that Sasuke had lost himself to his own insanity, it was Naruto who had brought him back to reality. It was him who had given him some comfort in the worst times of his life. Naruto was the first person whose smile was able to make him _want_ to smile right back. The first person who had engaged him in a full blown out argument, when everyone else was too scared of hurting his feelings… The one person who NEVER ceased to surprise him with how kind, and selfless he really is.

Ugh, he was screwed and he knew it.

----------------------------

Naruto's blue eyes fluttered opened, but as soon as they did, he felt the sudden urge to go right back to sleep.

He knew those eyes… and as he brought up his numb hand to wipe at his drowsy eyes, he watched as the figure that had been silently watching him raised an eyebrow. The man didn't say a word to him, just watched him silently— succeeding in almost making him wet his pants right then and there.

Looking around, and determining what his options were, and what he could possibly do to alleviate his frustrations, he noticed that he was in a cell.

A _dark_ cell…

He also noticed that he was actually very comfortable… despite the fact that he wanted to throw up everything that he hadn't ate the previous day! Naruto shifted slightly and he glanced down briefly, noticing that he was on a clean bed, which oddly enough, happened to have frog sheets.

Was he dreaming?

"No you're not dreaming," The cold voice was enough to bring him out of his silent musings. He looked up into those cold dark eyes and he felt a shudder go down his spine. Well… he was 99.999999 percent positive that he wasn't dreaming, unfortunately…! Though he wasn't about to show the bastard that he was sacred! Which of course he was, but that's beside the point… He needed to figure out a way to get out of there with all his vital body parts still intact. And he needed to figure out how to do that soon!

"Where am I?" Naruto's raspy voice echoed through the cement walls; which was odd considering his enemy's voice had done no such thing! He looked around once more and realized that there was a toilet, a small sink, and a wooden stool. Now he wasn't sure how retarded this genius was supposed to be… but that was just _perfect_! 

"You can't escape, so don't try. You'll only be brought food once a day, so don't try and starve yourself for attention. I'm sure you can manage to get yourself some water," The dark eyes glanced at the sink before settling on Naruto's tired form once more, "And _any_ luxury given to you will only be offered once. We are not kind men." 

The man stared at him for long moments before he walked over to the metallic bars, teleporting himself outside of them, and then looking at him once more. "Your chakra does not work here. Do not tempt me, I will kill you."

Naruto knew it wasn't a lie, and he knew well enough that the murderer was very capable of carrying out such a threat without so much as even batting an eye. He looked into the man's dark eyes, ignoring the urge to look down; he instead focused on trying to read any emotion that might be on display… though instead of clueing him in, he ended up more than a little confused!

The cold blooded murderer was looking at Naruto with something akin to regret... but it only lasted a second before an utter revulsion replaced it and the man walked away, his steps echoing behind him. Naruto didn't yell at him to come back… No, instead he sighed and closed his eyes, trying with all his might to get all thoughts of the Akatsuki out of his head— trying to focus only on those thoughts that made him happy— Sasuke and Sakura.

He'd find a way to escape being Itachi's prisoner later.

----------------------------------------------

Sakura glared at the girl that was supposed to be her best friend. How was it that Ino could be such a maniac, and yet act as if though she were completely sane in the head at the same time? Honestly though, she could tear that long nappy hair right out of her friends head! And she _would_, as soon as her mother left them alone!

"Are you guys sure you don't want any cookies?" Mrs. Haruno happily asked while swaying her hips from side to side.

"Yes mother, we ate some earlier, remember? Besides, Ino was in the middle of telling me something important… we'd like our privacy." Sakura managed not to give her mother such a rude smile, which was really speaking volumes of her self control at the moment.

"Actually, I think I'd like a glass of milk, if you wouldn't mind," Ino smiled at Sakura sweetly, "I'm sure Sakura would like some too." The blonde headed girl smoothed out the invisible wrinkles on her mini-skirt, avoiding Sakura's angry glare.

"Alright, I'll be back in a few minutes."

Sakura glared at her best friend, knowing full well the game that the bitch was playing with her. "Listen pig, you think that my mom can save your ass, think twice." She whispered angrily as her mother shut the door and walked happily to the kitchen.

"Sakura, how is any of this my fault?" Ino managed such an innocent look, that it had Inner Sakura raging in complete unbelief at the audacity that the pig had.

"How is this your fault?! _You_ told Anko everything! Just because you were jealous that some new hot thing got into Anko's pants before you did, did not mean that you could go and tell her everything and spill the beans about the _secret_ mission that Tsunade gave me! That is so unprofessional of you Ino! You know I could get into so much trouble for this…"

"Well it was _your_ fault for trusting _me_ with such information in the first place, forehead girl! Besides, Anko is Head of Konoha's security for a reason… you should trust her." Ino managed to doge a well aimed punch to her stomach, and at such actions she couldn't help but laugh. "Sakura don't you think you're overreacting just a tad bit?"

The pink haired shinobi huffed as her best friend and rival gave her one of her most convincing smiles… and yet she knew that she was screwed. She had to go talk to Anko now, thanks to her supposed best friend, and everyone knew how head deep into a shit hole she was for the new bitch that Naruto had decided to parade around. How on earth was she going to even have a civilized conversation with the older woman if she couldn't even form a civilized sentence about the new bitch that wanted to kill them all?!

"You know that love is blind…" Sakura rolled her eyes as she repeated the words that Tsunade had once spoken to her while lecturing her about her never ending infatuation with Sasuke… She had tried to convince Sakura that Sasuke was not perfect… and the pink haired shinobi still couldn't see the Hokage's point of view on that particular subject— Saskue, in her opinion, was definitely perfect.

"Here you are girls!" Mrs. Haruno chirped as she walked back into the room with two glasses of milk. "So… what are we talking about?" Smiling, she gave each girl their glass of milk before taking a seat next to her scowling daughter.

"Mother… I told you, it's private." In that moment Sakura thought that the world was trying to make her life a living hell. Nothing could be worse than her current situation— Sasuke was on a mission that could probably kill him, Naruto had been kidnapped and she would probably never see him again, she wanted to scream at her mother that she wasn't a child anymore and that she didn't need her to butt into everything, and then there was this little issue that had suddenly popped out of nowhere— she wanted to murder her best friend. She really agreed with the saying 'Live is a bitch'.

"Oh, come now Sakura, there's nothing you can't tell me. I'm your mother." To emphasize her point, Mrs. Haruno took the glass of milk out of Sakura's hand, took a sip, and gave it back, happily wiping away a small droplet of the white substance from the corner of her lips. 

Sakura once more directed her death glare at the bitch that had put her in this position. When Ino smirked at her sadistically, she felt like punching the pig right then and there. Sometimes she wondered why she even kept her around… Sure, Ino knew everything about everything, and knew everyone's business, which sometimes could come in handy, but Ino was certainly not worth all the trouble she had to go through now.

"Oh, Mrs. Haruno it's nothing really. We were just talking about Sakura's love life…" Ino smiled innocently at Sakura before continuing on with the little rant that would get her head smashed into a wall, "You see, she likes two guys and she can't decide who to pick." 

Oh. _Now_ the bitch was going to get it…

Sakura's eyes widened as she looked over at her mother to catch the reaction… To say she was shocked was an understatement. Her mother started _laughing_! Something she had never expected her mother to do at hearing such a thing! If anything she should be insulted, calling Ino different kind's of a liar.

"Wha-what's so funny?" Sakura croaked out.

"Sakura, sweetie… is that true?" Her mother clutched at her stomach as she tried to control the rather annoying giggles. Well this was certainly a side of her mother she had never cared to know. In all honesty, it was more scary than anything… not to mention weird.

"Oh it is! You see she fell for the hot, rich, and sexy one first. Of course it's only typical of Sakura to do just that— always going for the best option…! She never expected to fall for the underdog though. You see it's not that hard to see what she wants. Yet for some reason my friend here is having such a hard time trying to make a decision, when I don't even think one needs to be made, or that she even _wants_ to make one." Ino smirked once more, before slowly bringing the glass of milk to her lips and drinking… Acting as if though she had not just told Sakura's mother everything that she didn't need to know about her daughter!

"Sakura… is this true?" Mrs. Haruno looked at her daughter as if though she had grown a second head… and it had orange hair. Sakura was about ready to die at that point. Honestly though, if she was even still alive after this conversation was over, she was definitely going to have to go buy a black outfit to wear at Ino's funeral.

"Some of it…" She looked down, not being able to stare at her mother's intense gaze… feeling somewhat ashamed of her treachours feelings towards Naruto and Sasuke. She idly wondered what Sasuke would do once he found out that she loved Naruto just as much as she loved him.

"The rich and sexy one would be the survivor of the Uchiha clan, your boyfriend, ne?" Her mother paused, shifting on the bed to completely face her, "But who is this underdog?" There was a curiosity in her mother's voice that caused her to look up… and she had to admit she was surprised at what she saw. There was no steam coming out of her mothers ears, as a matter of fact, her eyes were as warm as always. She wasn't pissed… and for some ungodly reason, her mother was making it seem as if though her having boy problems was just the most wonderful thing ever…

Sakura cleared her throat, shamelessly wanting to sound completely innocent… "Uzumaki Naruto," She whispered, making sure to keep eye contact, she needed to see her reaction.

"…. That boy," Her mother's eyes widened a fraction, and Sakura prepared herself for the emotional wreck she was about to have to face up to. "That boy with blue eyes that saved Konoha during the attack of the Sand?" Her mother's eyes shone with mirth as she practically jumped up and down in excitement.

"Yeah, that's him!" Ino chipped in, jumping up and down right along with her mother… Sakura idly wondered if perhaps she was dreaming.

Shaking her head in disbelief, she fixed her eyes on her mother, and trying to sound as calm as she could, she asked the question that she was dying to know. "Mother, do you like him?"

"Like him?! Sakura… honey to tell you the truth, if I were going to pick one of them for you… between the two of them, I would pick Naruto. Let's just say that I'm pretty sure that with all the tragedy the Uchiha boy has had in his life, I'm fairly sure he's a mental wreck. As for Naruto… I hear he's a hard worker, he's funny, and he doesn't threaten everyone that he meets with the promise of death." Mrs. Haruno gave her another warm smile, taking Sakura's hand in her own.

Now most girls would be happy when they found out that their mother had no problem with her daughter dating one of the most hated kids in the village… However that little aspect seemed to completely bypass Sakura, for all she could think about was the fact that her mother had called Sasuke a mental wreck! The whole time she had been thinking that she was going to have to defend Naruto, not Saskue! Though she was happy that the idea of her being with Naruto wasn't all but shunned at the mere mention, she had to admit she was pissed off at what her mother had said about her current lover!

How dare she say such things about her boyfriend? Sure Sasuke had a lot of problems going on… but he was allowed to be a little off balance! His whole clan had been murdered by his own brother when he had been nothing more than a kid! Did she expect him to be a perfectly jolly man? Did she really expect his first priority to be Sakura?! Of course not…! Sakura was lucky to even be with Saskue, she was the envy of so many girls, and she wasn't just _with_ him! Saskue cared about her… he really, sincerely, truly cared about her. There truly wasn't anything else that she could ask of him… at least nothing that he knew how to give her.

She looked into her mother's eyes and prepared herself to reveal the little misunderstanding. She didn't just want to be with one of them. She didn't want her mom to choose. "Mother I'm afraid you don't understand what Ino was implying when…" Though she really wasn't allowed to say much more, for in that moment her mother tackled her down in a fierce hug, making Sakura squeal out in surprise.

"Oh of course I understand dear! But it is not my choice to make! You must choose between them… I can not do it for you!" Unfortunately for Sakura, the hug tightened, "I will always be here for you sweetie!" Then the kisses came— showering the pink haired shinobi with the bitter sweet taste of motherly love.

Sakura couldn't say she was particularly pleased with the outcome, but she also couldn't deny that she was somewhat relieved. Especially knowing that her mother didn't hate Naruto! Although now she dreaded the day when she had to tell her mother that she most definitely didn't want to choose… that she was going to do everything within her power to keep them both at her side.

They both had to damned well realize that she loved them! …And looking over at the smirking Ino, she came to a conclusion that the bitch was going to pay dearly!!

---- eNd cHApTeEr!---


	13. Slight Realizations

Chapter Thirteen— Slight Realizations

"Took you long enough," The gruff voice came from behind him, startling Sasuke, making him halt in his place. His feet swayed slightly as he jumped off a tree, his muscles tensed as he managed to land firmly on the ground. He cocked his head as Jiraiya's form came into view. "You look tired," The Legendary Sanin smirked, jumping out of his tree and onto the ground, his white eyebrows raised in question.

Sasuke chose not to respond to that. He really _was_ tired, and so first thing was first… water. He threw his oversized backpack on the ground, and sparing one last look at the toad, he searched for his halfway empty canteen. Finding his prize, he didn't hesitate in slugging down the remaining liquid. "Hn," Sasuke grunted as he looked up at the white haired ninja.

Jiraiya gave him a crooked smile as he looked him up and down. "Did you run into trouble?" His eyes seemed challenging enough, and Sasuke wasn't sure what game the older man was playing. "Or perhaps you're getting a little to old for this yourself?"

The young Uchiha rolled his eyes as he placed his backpack on his shoulders— staring the older ninja head on— he stood from his crouched position and chose once again not to respond. He really didn't feel like thinking up a great comeback, and if he even acknowledged such a taunt, it would probably injure his pride.

"We should keep going. I was able to sense your chakra _way too_ soon. If you're exposed for much longer, it wouldn't come as a surprise if by nightfall the Akatsuki attacked. I set up chakra suppressers further down south, we should get moving."

He nodded, and when Jiraiya jumped back into a tree, taking off at full speed, Sasuke did the same. He hoped that he would get a few hours of sleep before he was expected to do anything majorly tiring. _At least four hours_. He wondered what type of situation Neji and Lee were in— for a moment he imagined them chained to a wall, his brother's laugh echoing through the room as he tortured them… but then again, _Itachi didn't laugh_.

He wondered how he would react if he saw his brother again… What would he say to him? Sasuke wasn't stupid, he knew that he wasn't strong enough to face him in battle… yet he couldn't help but feel excited at the thought of cursing the bastard face to face, or at least landing a single blow!

His thoughts once more shifted to Naruto, on how the little bastard had gotten _so strong_ over the years that he had been away. He grew stronger every day, and for some reason, Sasuke was finding that he was having less and less will power to keep up the race for power. His goal in life was not to become the next great Hokage— he only wanted one thing, he wanted one man dead— and he was even starting to have his doubts on whether he still really _wanted_ that.

"We're here," Jiraiya grunted as he jumped off a tree, sitting on the floor Indian style. Sasuke looked around and noticed that some rocks had been gathered to start a fire. "Sit Sasuke, you must eat."

"Hn," He wasn't too hungry, though he knew that he would be soon. "How far are we from their base?" Sasuke asked, he could sense the slight tingle that was Itachi's chakra, though he doubted that Jiraiya was able to. Unfortunately he wasn't able to sense how far away his brother was, for all he knew, they could still be days away from the man who had killed his entire clan. "Itachi knows I'm here." Sasuke said slowly, he studied the older man's face for a few moments, finding it _odd_ that he just grunted, as if though he had just found out something _really annoying_. 

"And how does he know this?" Jiraiya sounded more irritated than anything else. Sasuke smirked; at least he was getting _some_ form of entertainment.

"It's something that we've always had, I don't know why, but even if no one else can, I've always been able to sense his chakra even when he's days away." He paused just to let the information sink in, and when Jiraiya made no form of expression he continued, "His ability to sense me is much clearer than mine. I have no doubt that if I can already sense him, he was able to sense me _long ago_."

"Well then you must try to get as much rest as you can before we're attacked. It is obviously no use trying to hide. Though I highly doubt that we'll be attacked right away— they'll let us trap ourselves _and then_ over-kill with pleasure." Jiraiya snorted before making some hand signs and summoning a slimy green frog holding a tray with fish, veggies, and fruit. Sasuke's mouth watered at the prospect of that damned shiny apple.

"Have some before you sleep." Jiraiya nodded towards Sasuke, and the green frog hopped his way towards the young Uchiha.

Sasuke grabbed the apple, immediately taking a large bite and relishing in the taste. "No," He said to the frog as it tried to hand him another one when he finished it in record time. "That will do for now," He said as he laid down on the grass. He wondered if Jiraiya was right… Would Itachi truly not come after them right away? He thought that the idea was completely absurd. Itachi loved to torture him, and he didn't have a doubt in his mind that before he left, the bastard _would_ have his share of fun. That's if he didn't kill him first. He wouldn't leave himself open for attack much longer though… "I complete my mission as soon as I wake up." He said quietly, closing his eyes and trying to get the ungodly images of pink and blonde out of his dammed head.

Sasuke would have fallen asleep, really, he would have! Even with the stupid picture of Sakura in a white wedding dress haunting his mind, he would have found a damned way to sleep…! His issue wasn't getting rid of his perverse nature though— it was the feeling that someone was watching him.

Why the hell was Jiraiya staring at him like that? If it wasn't for the fact that he knew first hand how much of a pervert the older man was… he would have asked. He didn't want to be molested though… 

"Ahem…" The sound of Jiraiya clearing his throat made Sasuke moan in annoyance, wasn't the toad supposed to let him get some sleep? "Sasuke, there are a few complications that you should know about. But before I tell you, I need to ask you to _try_ and control yourself."

Sasuke would have ignored the older man if he didn't sound so _dead serious_. Curiously, the Uchiha opened his eyes to stare at the legendary sannin, he wondered if this would be some sort of joke. "Hm," he nodded.

"…Naruto has been taken by the Akatsuki… I saw when they took him inside of their lair…" Jiraiya wouldn't look at him, he simply stared at the floor as if though it was the most interesting thing in the world. And that's how Sasuke knew that he _was_ being dead serious.

They had taken _his_ Naruto!

He was hopping from tree to tree in less time than his mind was able to register… Though for some reason there was suddenly a blur of white blocking his way. "What the fuck!" He yelled in frustration as he tried to go around Jiraiya. He had to get to Naruto. _He had to save his dobe_! He wouldn't allow his bastard of a brother to touch what was his! He couldn't loose Naruto; he couldn't loose _his_ idiot…! "Move out of the way Jiraiya!" He hissed dangerously. The overwhelming feeling that his heart was about to break into a million pieces wouldn't go away… He had to get to Naruto. 

"Sasuke don't be too rash! It will do Naruto no good if you rush in there and get yourself killed!" Jiraiya's eyes were desperate, and for the first time Sasuke noticed just how tired Jiraiya really was. That didn't matter though— Naruto was way more important.

"Move," he hissed, he would fight the damned pervert if he had to! He was not about to loose his dobe because of this man! "Now."

"Sasuke, he's been with them for three days! If they had wanted to kill him, they would have done so by now. You know that they can't kill him… They need him. You will only get yourself hurt by rushing in there. You need to sleep." Jiraiya argued, adopting a fighting stance, prepared to fight the Uchiha if he had to.

"Sleep! You actually expect me to sleep while Naruto is in there with murderers, and my brother is doing Kami-knows what to him! You don't understand old man, you don't understand at all!" Sasuke shook his head fervently, actually wanting to cry at the prospect of his brother taking one of the last persons that he truly _**loved.**_ "You _don't_ understand," He repeated once more, his hands falling to his sides, his back hunching in such a way that made him look defeated.

"I understand, Sasuke." Jiraiya said softly, hopping onto the same tree branch that the young Uchiha was currently occupying. "Perhaps I understand more than you would like me to, but if you truly want to save him, you must realize that you won't be able to do so in your current condition."

Sasuke knew Naruto's old sensei was right… he knew that if he let himself be controlled by his anger he would act completely irrational and probably just end up hurting the dobe even more. But the feeling of wanting to run as fast as he could to get to Naruto wouldn't go away. "I'm really supposed to just stay here?" He asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah, and I'm going to help you."

Sasuke saw as Jiraiya's hand moved to attack him, but he did not move. Slowly he left the world of the conscience; he felt his knees tremble; all he could see was black. 

------------------

Naruto sighed as he rolled onto his back, his stomach rumbled as he stared at the ceiling. He was _so hungry_. Itachi wouldn't feed him today though. The Uchiha had developed a weird habit to just stand against the wall and _stare_ at him. It made him feel as if though he was being molested in some way. So when the Uchiha hadn't gotten bored after three hours of just _staring_ at him, Naruto had started to yell at the bastard to either make conversation or leave. Though when Itachi had only ignored him, his irritation turned into anger— he had _tried_ to punch the bastard. He failed, of course, but he was pretty sure that he wasn't going to get fed now, thanks to his little spectacle.

"Idiot… Touch me again and you'll finally know how I make my puppets."

Naruto's head shot up at the sound of the dark voice… though when a chirpy laugh sounded right after the threat, he raised an eyebrow. He sat upright and listened as the sounds of bickering came closer and closer to his cell. A tall man with blonde hair suddenly stood on the other side of the bars, both hands on his hips— the smile he gave Naruto seemed as if though it would eventually crack his face in a painful manner. 

"Look he's still alive!" The man practically yelled, and suddenly there was a scoffing redhead next to him… "Are you having fun?" The blonde asked him, much too friendly for Naruto's liking.

He couldn't help but raise his eyebrow again… had the man _really_ just asked him if he was having fun? And was he _really still_ smiling at him? "Excuse me?" He asked, somewhat bewildered. 

"Idiot," The red head mumbled before pushing the blonde out of the way and opening the cell.

"Itachi asked us to bathe you." The blonde declared happily, stepping into the cell and standing next to the redhead.

At such a statement Naruto couldn't help but raise _both_ his eyebrows. "What the fuck?" He voiced his thoughts.

"Err… we won't _actually_ bathe you… but we get to take you. Come now, kyuubi…"

Naruto gritted his teeth, he hated being called by that name. "Listen _happy day_, I don't give a damn what that bastard told you, I aint going no where with you." Naruto watched as the blonde's smile faded and his eyes suddenly narrowed. He found it funny that the redhead was the one who was now smiling— though it was more of a crooked frown more than anything else— actually he took that back, the red head just looked pure evil. He wondered if they would try to force him to go though. He was fully prepared to fight. He didn't trust these guys and he definitely didn't like the idea of being naked in the same room with that hippy.

"We have ways of persuasion, but I assure you that you won't like them," The blonde man said, folding both his arms against his chest as he eyed Naruto.

"Fuck you." If Naruto was to be completely honest, he would have to admit that he wasn't entirely sure why he was putting up such a fight. He _had_ been longing for a bath, and he knew that he probably smelled worse than a dead dog by now, but still, he didn't trust these two men. "Where the hell is Itachi?" He asked, he would be _much_ happier if it was the Uchiha taking him.

"Aw what's the matter Jinchuuriki…? Sad that lover-boy hasn't come to see you today? Or maybe you're scared that he bored of you and now you're to be our toy?" The blonde man put his arms down and walked slowly towards him, placing both his arms around Naruto's neck once their faces where inches apart. "No need to worry though, I'm not as tuff as that damned Uchiha."

"Get the fuck off me you sick fuck!" Naruto tried to push the blonde away, but he found himself pressed harshly up against the cement wall, his sudden position bringing back a few specific memories of a _certain_ Uchiha pressed against a wall…

"Now, now, calm down kitty, I'll be gentle… promise."

Naruto felt a wet tongue lick all across his neck, making him shudder in disgust… Was he really going to get raped by these psychos? _Where the fuck was Itachi?! _

"Enough." The red head growled, pulling the blonde away from Naruto.

He didn't have enough time to see what _exactly_ happened, but when he turned to face his two opponents, the blonde had a bleeding nose and was pouting at the redhead… And the redhead was glaring at Naruto. _What the hell? _

"Get out."

Naruto didn't want to admit that he felt relieved at seeing the Uchiha's blank face staring boredly at the two men that had been harassing him just moments ago. He didn't dare say anything. Especially since he was still pretty sure that Itachi was pissed at him from the day before.

"Aw but _Itachi-chan_! We were having fun!" The blonde man churred, ignoring the death glare that the Uchiha was now trying to murder him with, "Can't we play with the kitty for a while longer?"

"Get. Out." Itachi's eyes narrowed angrily, it seemed that the two men that were the cause of his anger finally realized what sort of danger they were in… The blonde grabbed the redhead's arm.

"Fine, he's on his period anyway." The blonde muttered as he dragged the red head passed Itachi.

Naruto silently watched as Itachi closed the cell behind the two men that had given him the impression that they lived in a whole different universe. He thought that perhaps he should be concerned about being left in a room with a very dangerous Itachi… but when he looked into those blank eyes, the only thing that he could feel was relief. He didn't know why, but even if he was going to be molested and beaten, for some reason he preferred to blame the Uchiha for such actions. It made him feel as if though he was working on more familiar grounds. Of course that didn't mean that if the bastard decided to just stare at him for hours on end he would just allow it— it just meant he would be more comfortable about yelling, is all.

"It seems my little brother is very fond of you." Itachi said, his face completely expressionless.

Naruto wasn't sure what to make of the statement… what the hell did Sasuke have to do with this anyway? The bastard had made it perfectly clear that he didn't want anything to do with him— if they were anything at all, they were only common friends, rivals even. "Huh?"

"You're angry with him… it showed on your eyes the moment I brought him up. Why?" Itachi's voice was low and it was as if though he was trying to discover Naruto's secret. Only problem was that Naruto wasn't sure what secret that was… he had lots of them. He did know one thing though, his relationship with Sasuke was no one's business and so he didn't have to tell the bastard shit.

"It doesn't matter," It came out a lot weaker than he had intended, but he blamed it on the fact that Itachi had moved so close to him, that all he had to do was lean in just a bit and their mouths would be…

"Tell me," Itachi whispered, almost making Naruto's knees tremble. What the hell was wrong with him anyway? He was Uzumaki Naruto, his knees did _not_ tremble!

"Fuck you," He whispered weakly as Itachi leaned in and closed the gap between them… he felt a surge of electricity travel up his spine as the eldest Uchiha demanded entrance into his mouth. He granted it.

Their tongues danced together in a fight for dominance, Naruto submitted after a few moments, allowing himself to enjoy the feel of Itachi's tongue massaging into his own. He didn't know why he was enjoying this so much— How did Itachi manage to make him feel these treachours things, how did he manage to get under his skin in such a way? He shouldn't even be allowing this murderer to touch him, let alone touch him in _this_ way! A sense of reality hit his brain, and he pushed the Uchiha away slightly— not completely. Those dark black eyes bore into his, and he was sure that if the Uchiha asked him for anything, he would readily give in to him. _This was too dangerous…_

"We shouldn't… Sasuke…" He didn't even know what Sasuke had to do with this… He just knew that somehow this would be a betrayal. 

"Does he feel for you?" Itachi raised a brow as he waited for the reply.

Naruto's cheeks flushed at the question. Of course Sasuke didn't _feel_ for him! The prick felt for _Sakura_… he could never feel for _him_.

Naruto wasn't good enough for Sasuke and he never would be. Sasuke would only ever see him as a friend… "Don't be a moron. He's only a friend… _and you're his enemy_." He accused, his blonde eyes narrowing.

Itachi smirked at him knowingly, "Well then, I suppose that would make me _your_ enemy too." He leaned down once more and captured Naruto's lips in a breathtaking kiss.

Naruto didn't know what to do. A part of him wanted to kiss back, but another part of him felt as if though he would once more be betraying those that he held so dear to him.

"_They're not_ thinking of you," Itachi murmured against his lips. The words caused his heart to churn— but it also made him realize that he couldn't lock up his emotions for a cause that had been lost since the very start. Sakura and Sasuke would never willingly be his. 

Naruto didn't owe them any sort of loyalty, especially not of _this sort_… 

— eNd cHapTeR—

AN#2: Okay people, the reason why I'm developing Itachi and Naruto's relationship in this manner in THIS chapter is because of a story I have in mind for AFTER this fic has been completely. Which I suspect is to be very soon… I hope. Anyways… if you guys really hate this pairing please don't think that I'm going to write any smut on it. Though I might mention that _it_ happened, or might imply _it. _


	14. I'll love you more than Anything

Chapter Fourteen— I'll Love You More Than Anything

Sasuke was brought out of the sleeping world with the feel of cold water splashing his face, "What the hell…?" He growled as he glared up at the white haired sannin who was currently smirking triumphantly.

"I tried shaking you… I tried kicking you… Hell I even tried yelling. Did you know you're as still as a rock when asleep? You're a pain in the ass too; you almost stabbed me with that damned kunai of yours without even knowing it!" Jiraiya shook his hands about, making a show for the young and angry Uchiha.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'd succeed if I tried to do it now though," Sasuke muttered annoyingly.

"I'm going to go ahead; follow me in two hours time."

"Two hours?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow. 

"Two hours. I'll send you a frog if something is off," Jiraiya whistled happily and then took off.

Sasuke sighed; he was calmer than what he would have expected considering the love of his life was in danger of dying at the hands of the man who had ruined his entire life…

_Love of my life? _

Since when did he think of Naruto as the love of his life? And where did this put Sakura…? _I have to be losing my mind._ But then again, that would explain everything. It would explain the tight feeling in his chest that he got at the thought of losing his dobe, and it would definitely explain why he hated Ako so damned much.

_I'm jealous… jealous of a woman. _

Sasuke shook his head slightly, trying to organize his thoughts in a way that didn't seem completely unreasonable or absurd. _When had he fallen for the dobe anyway?_ It was more than sexual attraction. Naruto was handsome, he had beautiful eyes, he had _soft_ skin, and he had a nice body… but it was still more than that. Naruto had actually won over his heart. He supposed he had loved the blonde for a while now, but it was just now that he fully acknowledged the idea of actually _being_ with him.

The more he thought of it, the more he realized how scared he actually was. How could it be that he was only _now_ realizing exactly how much Naruto meant to him? He'd been such a jackass.

He had to tell Naruto, that much he knew for certain. But what would Sakura think or say? Why did everything have to be so fucking twisted for him? He couldn't just dump Sakura for the blonde; he'd be making the exact same mistake. He loved Sakura just as much; so that made him bisexual? _Pffh, this is all Itachi's fault! _

It always came down to his brother; the bastard. He knew it was only an excuse to take the blame off himself, but he didn't know what else to do. After all, it really was Itachi's fault that he grew up being so twisted and fucked in the head.

Honestly, what kind of man can't decide who he wants to be with?

_I want them both… _

And yet the realization did nothing to calm the ache in his heart. He knew they would never agree to this twisted form of a relationship he was already creating in his mind. Naruto would probably be disgusted at the mere thought of sharing a bed with him, and Sakura would probably freak.

"Hello Sasuke."

The chilling voice broke through his thoughts, and his entire body went tense immediately… how could he have _not sensed him?! _

"Your power seems to decrease each time I see you, outoto"

"Itachi," Sasuke hissed the name, turning his body slightly to the pale face that had haunted his dreams so many nights before, "Why are you here?" He fought back the urge to simply attack Itachi; he knew it'd be useless… it was always useless.

Itachi stared silently at him and it seemed as if the world Sasuke knew was crumbling before his very eyes; memories of that one night many years ago flashed through his mind; almost suffocating him… "What do you want?!" He yelled desperately, he didn't want to be near the man that had taken away his childhood and now wanted to take away his Naruto.

"You're distracted…" Itachi's eyes narrowed as he took a few steps towards Sasuke.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the statement; Itachi always did hate it when his full attention wasn't on him, though he could never come up with a good explanation as to why. Itachi was the type of person that didn't like to be noticed… ever, "Fuck you."

"Could it be a certain blonde that has you so distracted, outoto?" Itachi's smug look was enough to trigger that last point in Sasuke that had him on his feet in less than 5 seconds, running towards his anaki with nothing but the intent to kill.

"You bastard! I swear I'll kill you if you hurt him!" Sasuke aimed for his brother's abdomen; Itachi blocked the attack with ease; taking a hold of Sasuke's arm and twisting it harshly. Sasuke screamed and tried to kick out, but Itachi seemed to have twisted his entire body in a way to where he couldn't reach his anaki with any real attacks. 

"Sasuke… why are you always such a disappointment?" 

No matter how many times Itachi told him the same thing over and over again; those words always seemed to hurt Sasuke like a thousand knives embedded in his chest, and each time it was worse.

Itachi landed a blow on his stomach and sent Sasuke flying a few feet away from him; Sasuke bounced off a tree and landed on his back. "What do you want?" Sasuke asked, glaring up at the man he hated most in the world… he would give anything for the chance to kill him. And it was times like these where he wished he was stronger.

Itachi said nothing as he stared down in poorly disguised disgust at Sasuke, and the younger Uchiha knew that his anaki wasn't about to give him an answer. He stood from the floor and quickly noted what condition his body was in; Itachi hadn't hit hard enough so he couldn't fight anymore; but he probably wouldn't be so merciful if he tried to attack again. He idly considered the thought of actually running away, but quickly dismissed that idea. He was an Uchiha; he didn't fear anything; he was no coward; _and he didn't run from his problems even if he was_. "I'm going to kill you, you know."

Itachi got this look of amusement in his eyes that made Sasuke want to snort. His brother _never_ took anything he said seriously… "Give Naruto back to me." The look of amusement Itachi was wearing seemed to intensify ten-fold. 

"The kyuubi will die, little brother," Itachi watched him intensely, a smirk beginning to form on the corners of his lips. 

"Bastard, I won't let you hurt him!" Sasuke ran towards his brother once again, a kunai in both hands, Sharingan calculating every move Itachi would make. The problem was that Itachi wasn't moving, he was just standing there… looking bored. Sasuke zig-zagged his way towards his brother, he felt the beat of his heart heighten up, almost as if though it wanted to pop out… and then Itachi was gone.

Sasuke came to a halt and looked at his surroundings, trying to decipher where his brother had hidden himself… he had no time to do it though because just as suddenly as Itachi had disappeared, he reappeared before him and sliced his cheek with a sharp kunai… "Ahhhhh!" Sasuke yelled. His hands immediately went to cradle the almost deadly cut; Itachi could have killed him! He didn't really get all the time he would have liked to cradle his wound though, because Itachi took that opportunity of weakness to push him up against a tree.

"Now little brother… What would father think if he knew his precious son was in love with the demon that almost destroyed his village?" Itachi whispered into his ear, his hand holding the blood stained kunai against his neck, "Is that it outoto, are you in _love_?" 

The dark voice made Sasuke shiver as his brother's tongue snaked out to lick his ear… "What the hell are you talking about, anaki?" Sasuke couldn't even begin to imagine what would happen if his brother found out of his feelings towards Naruto. He was pretty darn sure he wouldn't maintain all his body parts if he his little secret got out though, "Of course I don't like Naruto _like that_… The dobe is a useful adversary to keep around…" Sasuke closed his eyes tightly and tried to keep still as the kunai dug into his neck painfully, his brother's hand snaking down to painfully grip at his hip.

"Do _not_ lie to me," Itachi hissed out, and it sounded almost as if though he growled, but Sasuke dismissed the thought immediately. "It doesn't matter though… and I guess I should probably let you know that Naruto-kun is a great partner in bed."

Sasuke tensed at those words; the kunai drove into his neck deeper; his breath stopped, and he opened his eyes to stare at his brother's flaring Sharingan. Itachi's eyes were cold; Sasuke could recognized the anger in them, "Let-m-ee—go," he cracked— it was damned painful talking with a kunai halfway through your neck!

Itachi studied him a few more moment; then he frowned, "I think I'll like you better asleep, Outoto." He took the kunai out of his neck, and smirking, he knocked Sasuke into a world of darkness. He took off into the forest with the limp body of his brother lying unconsciously against his back; his perfect body swaying easily with the wind. 

-----------------------

Sasuke awoke to the sound of dripping…

_Drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…_

Fluttering open his black eyes, he moaned slightly as his body was surprisingly tense. His mind went into haze as he realized that he was no longer in the forest; Jiraiya wasn't around, and he was in a cell. 

_Itachi…_

He groaned as he tried to move his head; his hand shot up at the pain that ran from his neck down to his chest… _Damned bastard._ How was it that he always managed to put himself in such dilemmas anyway? Naruto was going to kill him.

He wondered how his blonde was doing; he wondered what condition the Akatsuki had him in. Jiraiya had said he was still alive, and Sasuke had been hanging onto those words as if though they were a life-stream; because Naruto _had_ to be alive. Itachi had said his blonde would die, but he wasn't dead _yet_, and that's all he needed. Next time he saw his bastard brother he would break free from this cell and rescue his blonde and take him to freedom. So in the end he figured that it was all for good that Itachi had captured him. His brother had gotten him into the Akatsuki's hideout without him having to break a sweat… well, okay so maybe he got a kunai in his neck because of it, but that was beside the point. The only problem was that now he needed a plan… He needed a way to get out.

Taking a few deep breaths, Sasuke summoned chakra to his left hand; he smirked when he realized that his anaki hadn't used a chakra suppressor. He looked up at the bars and wondered if they had a jutsu, they certainly looked normal enough. But then the last time he had thought that same thing he had gotten shocked from head to toe and hadn't woken up for a whole day. He looked around the cell once more, but there was nothing small enough that he could try to throw threw the bars. The room was plain; hard bed; a sink and a rag. For what purpose the rag was there, he had no clue…

So he needed to weigh his options. Was it worth it to get fried if it turned out that his brother had used some sort of jutsu? Or should he just sit around and wait for someone to come. He stared silently for a few minutes; when his eyes caught sight of the rag once more, he suddenly had an idea. He snorted to himself because as un-genius as it was, it would definitely work. He grabbed the rag and tore it in half, crumpled it until it was a ball, and used a bit of chakra to burn it so that it would stay in place. He looked up at the bars and smirked, threw the rag ball, and watched as it easily went threw the slick bars.

Okay so that was odd, his anaki had been stupid enough to not put any seals up to prevent his escape… that meant that he could easily knock down the bars? He walked up to the metal bars and slowly raised a hand to touch, cautious that his brother might be playing a trick on him, like always. Surprised that his hand didn't get electrocuted, he weighed his options again, because he knew something was up… _This was way to easy_. Sasuke realized that even though his brother might be trying to trap him, this was also the only chance he might get to escape…

So it was decided; the young Uchiha concentrated on summoning a mild chidori, and with a sense-of-humor he pretended the bars were his brother and shocked the damned metal things to the floor. The explosion wasn't even that loud… because the bars were made of dirt. _What the fuck?_ He didn't have much time to contemplate on the bars because he could faintly hear voices, and he really didn't want to find out who they belonged to.

He walked aimlessly through the stone halls. Since he'd escaped his cell, he hadn't heard or seen a single sign of life, and he was starting to wonder if maybe he had made a mistake in escaping at all. After all he could have just forced his brother to make him give Naruto back, right? He saw some pretty weird things though, although he hadn't seen signs of living beings, he'd seen snakes and he'd seen spiders the size of eddo… made him wonder if perhaps Orochimaru was still around.

Twenty minutes of more wandering and Sasuke found a large door covered in layers of dirt with a large metal handle; and everything turned darker. The atmosphere around him suddenly changed and he knew that beyond the door he would find death. He swallowed meekly and grabbed the large handle and pulled back. The door opened easily than he had expected it to, but the dirt fell all over him and he couldn't help but cough. _Oh kami…_ Sasuke fought the urge to cover his nose as an awful smell invaded his nostrils.

He walked forward slowly and his eyes widened at what he saw. Cells and cells filled with halfway dead prisoners, animals, and demons. He swallowed as a feeling of despair suddenly welled deep in his stomach… Could it be that Naruto was in there too? He walked faster and faster, giving each prisoner a few seconds before moving on, desperately searching for blonde hair and blue eyes, but all he found was skeletons.

"…Sasuke?" 

Sasuke spun around faster than lightning, meeting with pale non-existent eyes… "Neji?" Realizing that it was the Hyuuga, Sasuke ran up to the boys cell and noticed a big lump in the corner…was that… "Lee?"

Neji looked at him for a few minutes before nodding in confirmation; Sasuke's gaze lingered a few moments on Lee before returning back to Neji, "Is Naruto here?" God he hoped not.

"Naruto?" Neji's surprise lasted no longer than a second, "No."

Sasuke nodded and summoned his chidori once again, but this time the bars were not made of dirt, and he found himself having to use more force. Once the bars were down, he went over to Lee's unmoving figure. "What happened to him?"

"A crazy blonde decided he didn't like him… little freak had mouths in his hands," Neji walked over to Lee and picked him up easily, "and I don't either."

"Listen, you have to get out of here, can you deal with Lee on your own?" Sasuke looked back at the door he had left wide open; it wouldn't be long before someone caught them and he knew that with three of them, and one not being able to walk, it'd definitely be harder to get out unnoticed… and he still had to find his dobe, "I need to find Naruto."

"I don't know my way around, and I have chakra suppressors," Neji looked down at his feet and Sasuke's eyes followed, "They're dug in."

They were made of metal and Sasuke noticed the dried blood around Neji's ankles. "I can pull them out, but then you won't be able to walk…" Sasuke said slowly. So they had a problem, Neji was weak, and if he pulled out the metal ankle cuffs, he would more likely be limping— it'd slow him down immensely. "I have to find Naruto," He repeated again.

"We can leave Lee here and I'll go with you; we'll split up and cover more ground; If I get caught at least Lee wont be a burden on me; if we haven't found him in an hour, we meet back here, pick up Lee, and leave… we'll have to wait for reinforcements."

"Reinforcements won't come for another three days, Jiraiya should be here then, but I can't leave Naruto in here for that long, not with my bastard brother." He couldn't meet Neji's eyes; he didn't care that he was being selfish… but he couldn't leave his blonde here.

"Okay then, we'll find him," Neji slowly walked over to the far wall of the cell and gently put Lee down, "let's go."

---------End Chapter---------- 


	15. Bang Bang goes the Broken Glass

Chapter Fifteen— Bang Bang Goes the Broken Glass

Itachi leaned in and roughly plunged his tongue into Naruto's awaiting mouth; his hands going down to the blonde's hips, painfully gripping him; their bodies so close together that Naruto thought he would suffocate in Itachi's heat. Naruto's vision blurred as he tried to enjoy the sensation of having a powerful assassin invade his mouth, but he couldn't really ignore the slight tang of guilt that welled deep within his heart. He knew he was probably the worst friend alive on the face of the planet. He thought that Sakura and Sasuke had done him wrong by sleeping with each other, but honestly what he was doing was no better. He was sleeping with the man that had killed his best friend's entire family, the man that Sasuke wanted to kill above all other things. Yet when Itachi cupped his cock, Naruto couldn't contain the long moan that strolled out. One fuck couldn't hurt, right? Honestly, he wasn't attached emotionally, but he would be lying if he didn't admit that Itachi was incredibly hot and that he had a few erotic dreams about the eldest Uchiha.

"Stop thinking and suck me," Itachi said sternly.

That too was a plus; the man didn't even try to pretend that he cared. Naruto knew that he was just trying to get into his head, and for the most part he didn't mind because he wouldn't be giving anything away anytime soon.

Itachi pushed down on his shoulders and Naruto complied. Falling onto his knees he stared at the huge cock-head and smirked as he took an experimental lick. The taste wasn't altogether awful. He'd never had a relationship with a man before, and this was definitely new, but he had fantasized plenty about a certain raven, and well, he figured that this was as close as he was ever going to get to live out that certain fantasy.

Naruto brought the head of Itachi's cock into his mouth; he looked up to see dark eyes slightly glazed with lust and something akin to amusement. He inched more of Itachi's manhood into his mouth, suckling on the head slightly before teasing the slit just a bit. Itachi let out a growl of approval, bucking his hips forward, causing a bit of pain on Naruto's jaw. The blonde let his teeth graze slightly against the popped out vein that ran along the Uchiha's length. He had never done this before, but judging by the small sounds, the constant moving of Itachi's hips, and the now harsh grip that the assassin had on his hair, Naruto figured that he had to be doing something right. He looked up and was surprised that the prodigy's eyes were still intent on him; after all if someone is sucking you off and you're able to keep control during the act, then you're pretty amazing.

He let his tongue slide downwards on the length slowly; trailing down, down, and down to a nice set of balls that throbbed when he suckled on them. He brought one into his mouth while his hand pumped on the length, his fingernail ghosting over the cock-head. He brought the other ball into his mouth and massaged his tongue into it, thinking of what it would feel like to have the same thing done to him. Just the thought made his cock bounce out of anticipation—because Itachi _had_ to give him pleasure for doing this, right? He couldn't take it anymore and so he let his unused hand go down to start pumping his own dick, but he found himself suddenly thrown on his back with a crazed Uchiha looking down at him with a malicious smirk. Naruto gulped.

"You've never been with a man before, have you?" Itachi asked huskily, and Naruto could only shake his head nervously. 

The blonde noticed those dark eyes soften for only a moment before he was maneuvered onto his stomach; Itachi's hands grabbed onto his roughly and pulled it out so that it was sticking up in the air. Naruto remembered what it felt like to be with Ako, the sensations the beautiful girl caused him to feel, but it was nothing compared to this. Hell, even Sasuke's kiss and Sakura's touch had given more pleasure to him than a casual lay.

A harsh hand came down onto Naruto's right ass cheek, leaving a red imprint of five fingers on the pale flesh, "what the fuck," Naruto hissed as another hit was landed onto his other cheek. His hands gave way and he fell completely onto the mattress. He heard a low chuckle come from behind him, and then he felt the bed shift as Itachi climbed into it. The Uchiha's hand's traveled down both of Naruto's thighs as he settled himself in-between the blonde's legs. Naruto closed his eyes and tried to control his breathing as a slender finger teased the crack of his ass… Kami he was going to go crazy if Itachi kept on teasing him like this.

"Tell me what you want, Naruto-kun," Itachi leaned over him and whispered into his ear, his finger tapping Naruto's exposed hole, "Tell me what you want me to do to you."

Oh god… "I need… you," even in his blurry state of mind Naruto knew that something was off… even as Itachi's thumb kept teasing his entrance by putting pressure then retreating, massaging the hole, then putting pressure on it again, he knew something was terribly wrong, "Inside… me," he moaned loudly.

"Naruto…"

And there it was— the killing intent that he was sure he had been feeling for about 40 seconds. A long finger slipped all the way into his ass, and he couldn't help but moan at the pleasure of being stretched in such a way— no one had ever made him feel this way before. He lifted his head from the bed and turned towards the entrance of his cell and he found the owner of the voice staring at him in complete shock; never in his life had he felt so much shame. He tried to move away, but he found that Itachi's hand on his back was holding him down firmly. 

"And here I thought you'd never make it, Sasuke," Itachi said coolly, his finger going in and out of Naruto's ass smoothly. "Would you like to play for a while?" Itachi turned and looked Sasuke directly in the eyes, but he wasn't smirking, and he didn't look one bit amused. He had an even darker look in his eyes, and suddenly Naruto could feel the killing intent atop him as well. Why the hell was everyone so pissed off anyway? He had no idea what to do. He was naked under a very deadly Uchiha with a finger stuck up his ass… not to mention the guy he was in love with had just walked in on the scene. He was so screwed.

"_Get your hands off him_," Sasuke gritted his teeth together; both his hands clenched into fists, "Now."

Itachi's emotionless chuckle echoed off the cement walls, and Naruto's eyes went wide as he had three fingers shoved up his ass. "Oh Kami…" Why was everything so hot now?

"I don't think Naruto would like it if I stopped outoto."

"YOU BASTARD!" Sasuke yelled as he ran towards his brother, prepared to kill the jackass with a sharp kunai. 

Itachi pulled the fingers out of Naruto's ass and used the hand to grab onto Sasuke's wrist; he punched the raven in the gut and Sasuke fell on top of Naruto. "I'll kill you for this," Sasuke managed to wheeze out.

"For what Sasuke? For finger fucking your precious Naruto? He wanted it, and if you hadn't showed up, he would have begged me to stick my cock up his ass too." Itachi smirked at the blush that covered Naruto's cheek. The blonde stood up hurriedly before Itachi somehow managed to get the best of him again; he grabbed his pants from the ground, dressing before something serious happened. Now that Sasuke was here, he was pretty sure he would get to leave, and he didn't really want to leave this place in bare skin.

"Liar! You're a fucking rapist you bastard!" Sasuke jumped and aimed a kick at his brother, but Itachi was too quick for him and he blocked it, using one of his own kicks, sending him crashing into the wall.

"You truly disgust me," Itachi spat.

"Enough!" Naruto yelled and managed to get the attention he was seeking. "Sasuke, he's right…" Naruto felt his cheeks get hotter, "I was fucking horny okay. I asked him to touch me. He wasn't raping me," He paused and looked into Itachi's eyes, surprised that Itachi had what looked to be a genuine smile, and it didn't look quite as evil as it should have. "Now if you have some sort of plan to get out of here, you should probably think about going through with it right about now, because as far as I can tell, he's kicking your ass… If you haven't forgotten, he's an Akatsuki member."

Itachi looked truly amused as Naruto yelled at Sasuke while he tried to put on his shirt. "Well at least you fell for one that has _some_ brains…" The eldest Uchiha muttered, more so to himself than anyone else.

Naruto glared at the oldest Uchiha, why did everyone always have to make fun of him? "You planned this you bastard." It made sense… Itachi wouldn't _really_ want to fuck him; he was just using him as another way to hurt Sasuke— and realizing that it had worked, Naruto didn't even want to look in Sasuke's direction anymore.

"I'm impressed," Itachi said simply as he continued to look down on them with that I'm-high-and-mighty-what-you-gonna-do-about-it look. Naruto didn't think he could take much more of the bullshit people kept throwing at him. First Ako, and now Itachi too…? It was like the world was trying to prove the point that he wasn't wanted and that he didn't belong on earth. "What's the plan Sasuke?" Naruto asked again, determined not to become an emotional wreck.

Sasuke looked at him for a few moments and Naruto knew that the raven wanted to yell at him. He just knew it; and he knew that he _would_ yell at him as soon as he got a better chance to do it, "Run." 

Naruto groaned, "Teme, you had plenty of time to come up with a damned plan and that's the best you could to!"

Sasuke glared at him, "You said it yourself dobe, he's an Akatsuki, what the fuck do you want me to do?"

"Fine," Naruto mumbled… "KAKE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"

40 clones of the blonde over-stuffed in a single cell was not the best thing in the world… but it did manage to get Itachi out of the room, which allowed Sasuke and Naruto out as well. Naruto sent three clones to attack Itachi from behind, and he sent two to attack on the front. Itachi seemed to not even be breaking a sweat as he fought them down, and just like that, five of his clones were gone.

"We have to go now, I'll make more to keep him busy and we make a run for it." Naruto said as he made the hand signs for more clones.

"Goukakyou no Jutsu," Itachi made the hand signs and put a hand up to his mouth as he spat fire out; all of Naruto's clones disappeared with poof. 

"Damn it," Naruto didn't know if he should just make a run for it, or if he should actually try and fight the deadly assassin that managed to kill his entire clan in one night. Just by looking at Itachi he knew he had to make the decision soon because the eldest Uchiha was quickly getting bored.

"Sasuke, Naruto!" Neji's voice rang and broke the uncomfortable silence that was hanging on to the air tightly.

Naruto looked over at the dark genius in surprise; what was he doing here? He looked over at Sasuke who looked to be in turmoil as to what he should do. He looked back at the smug look that Itachi now had on his perfect face, and Naruto felt like groaning out loud. Why did all the Uchiha's have to be such corky bastards?

"Kisame, take care of them," Itachi said slowly, and surely the shark-like man appeared behind them. Itachi looked into his brothers eyes for a moment, and the raven thought he saw a flash of emotion, if only for a moment. 

"Finally— haven't fought for a while… Well, well, looks like I'll finally be able to cut those legs off, Naruto-kun. Don't worry though, I'll try and make it fun," Kisame said. 

"What?" Naruto asked, his eyes never leaving Samehada. Why did the sword have to be soooo big? And why were his knees suddenly weak?

Kisame smirked, his sharp pointy teeth sending waves of fear into the very hearts of all three Leaf Ninja's. "This would be where you run," the shark-like man mocked.

"RUNNN!!!!" 

---------------------

They were tired, sweaty, thirsty, and injured. And they had left Lee behind. Silence was the only language that the three Leaf ninja's had spoken since their escape. Naruto had never felt so useless in his life.

Ever since he had been a kid, he had always won ever battle he entered. He had worked his ass off to become stronger so that when it came down to his friends— his loved ones— he would always be strong enough to protect them. But there he stood, and he had been defeated, mocked, and then released out of pity that he was sure was only the face to something even more horrible. The blonde looked over at Neji… Kisame had cut off his hand. The arm was still attached to the shoulder, but in an easy opening, the skilled Akatsuki had managed to cut off everything below the wrist.

Sasuke was in better condition; thanks to his Sharingan he had been able to keep himself from taking any major damage. He doubted he would have been so lucky had it been Itachi he one the raven had been fighting. Itachi had acted really weird, he had just sat back to watch them get their asses kicked by his partner. He had let Kisame beat the shit out them. It wasn't unexpected, but a few days ago he would have thought that that wasn't Itachi's style— just sitting back and watching.

It was an awkward situation— having to travel with an angry Sasuke, and a Neji who had just had his hand cut off. The silence was almost unbearable, but he didn't dare break it because he knew what had happened was serious. Neji had lost a vital part of his body— and Sasuke had just confronted his brother once again. He was pretty sure the raven was having a pity trip right about now, you know, the whole— _I will kill him, I will avenge my clan_— deal. And they had left Lee behind.

They were still a few days away from Konoha, and maybe, if Jiraiya made himself useful, they would be met half-way with medical-nin's. He hoped so, he was pretty sure that Neji was in pain. Hell, he was in pain. Naruto stole a quick glance at Sasuke and thought that Sakura would be pretty pissed right now for letting her _boyfriend_ get two black eyes.

_Nah, she'll probably heal him anyways._

"We should stop here to rest," Neji's smooth voice cracked the silence.

All three figures stopped abruptly, "I'll go look around for a lake," Sasuke took off before anyone could object.

"I guess I'll go look around for some wood," Naruto said in a monotone voice that earned him an odd look from the black Hyuuga genius… "What?"

"You're awfully quite."

Naruto stared into those white eyes, "Should I be saying something?"

"It's not that, it's just that you're usually always talking your ass off," Neji sat down against a tree and looked down at his hand.

"I don't know what to say. You lost your hand. Sasuke saw his brother again and wasn't able to kill him… I just know he's having a pity trip right about now. And we left… we left…" He looked down at his shoes, unable to finish that sentence.

"We left him behind, and now he's going to die," Neji said.

Lee was going to die because of him. They had only captured him as another way of getting to Naruto, and he had left him behind. He had left Lee behind, "He's going to die," He nodded.

Neji sighed, "Naruto, we're ninja's. We're all going to die eventually. Lee knew there was a risk when he accepted this mission. This is not your fault."

"But they wanted me, not him! And I don't understand why they just let us go. It's like it was all in vain. You lost your hand for nothing. Lee is going to die for nothing. Sasuke gets to be tormented some more by his past— all for nothing— because they had the chance to kill me. Itachi could have, hell Kisame could have… But they just let us go. It's like he's _playing_ with us," Naruto looked in the direction where Sasuke took off, "I just don't understand why my friends always have to get hurt instead of me."

"Because you have the nine-tails demon in you, that's why. It's not so hard to understand, Naruto. I'm not saying it's your fault, but I am saying that you're doomed to live a fucked up life. Someone is always going to want you dead; someone is always going to be after either you, or the demon within you. Get used to it, and instead of whining about mistakes that have been made, better yourself so that they won't happen again. Leaving Lee behind wasn't just your mistake— he was _my_ best friend— it was my mistake too."

"Sorry," He mumbled slowly, only now realizing that Neji would have a very hard time getting over Lee. He had always seen more than just friendship between the two; and now he was feeling like a total jerk. Neji nodded at him, and then simply closed his eyes— Naruto took that as a dismissal.

He walked away slowly, determined to just get away and find some lumber so they could start a nice fire.

He had to get everything out of his mind. He had to get Lee out. He had to get Sasuke out. He had to Itachi out… and he had to get Sakura out. For a second, he wondered how she was doing, did she miss him? He sighed then. His loved ones would always be in danger. And he would never be able to stop worrying about his friends.

Naruto was really on the verge of thinking that his life had no hope of getting better… at least until he saw Sasuke naked, walking into a beautiful lake as if though he were some sort of lake-god or something…! He stood there, still, completely shocked; because honestly, he had never seen anything more beautiful in his life. The water slowly covered more of the raven's body; Sasuke's round pale ass cheeks disappearing slowly into the water— his strong back flexing as the raven stretched out his hands before dipping himself all the way into the crystal clear water. Naruto had to literally shake himself out of his stupor. _Get a hang of yourself Uzumaki!_ Getting a hang of himself was the hardest thing to do at the moment though, and he knew that Sasuke would re-emerge from the water and see him there, but no matter how much he told his feet to move, they stood completely paralyzed.

Then it happened, and it seemed as if though it happened in slow motion just to torture him. Sasuke's water-slick body slowly slipped out, walking towards him, and those black coal eyes connected with his blue, and Naruto felt a slight tingle go down his back, towards his cock.

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows, then that ever present glare came back… "Naruto…" 

The blonde found that he was shaking, he couldn't even respond, so he just stared at the beauty in terrifying silence. The raven's cold stare made him want to crawl into a hole and just die, but he knew that walking away from this situation would just make things worse— so like a man, he stood there patiently and waited. 

"Come here, Naruto," Sasuke said, his face unreadable.

For a moment the blonde actually wanted to say _'hell no, bastard'_ but he figured that would also make things worse. He walked towards the Uchiha and found himself regretting each and every step he took towards the jackass. When he was finally a few inches away from the water, he stopped and raised an eyebrow towards Sasuke. The raven stared at him a few seconds before swimming to shore and coming out of the water completely naked… and apparently, completely unashamed.

Inches apart from each other— and all Naruto could think about was how sexy Sasuke's six-pack looked with little drops of water sliding down them. "Look at me," Sasuke said, and Naruto forced his eyes away from those hard abs and stared into those surprisingly _soft_ black eyes?

Sasuke leaned in suddenly and pressed his lips to Naruto's, and for a few seconds, it was just lips on chapped lips— no moving. Naruto tensed up, but Sasuke's wet hand came up to grab his shoulders. The raven ran his tongue over the blonde's bottom lip, asking for entrance, and the blonde hesitantly consented.

"I want you Naruto…" Sasuke's said, his tongue clashing with Naruto's. "And I will have you."

"Okay," Came the raspy, weak, and shaky respond.

------End Chapter------

AN: Hey guys, I did Itachi/Naruto Lime— Yay for me. Oh and I had a friend read this, and she was all like "Dude you totally cut off the action scene," and I just replied with— duh, I suck! Anyways, she's a great writer and asked me if I would let her co-write the final chapters. I'm not happy about that, mainly because the story is ALMOST done, and there really is no point in that. But I might let her beta the rest of my chapters, seeing as how the more time that passes by, the less time I have to write— so that would really help. Anyways, that was my excuse as to why I suck at writing smut and action and I will write a whole lot of action in the sequel (I hope) just to practice. Cuz really that's what this is all about--- practice! LOL Anyways, drop a review and let me know if it's good because I got VERY little reviews last chapter… and got really discouraged, but then was all like NOOOOOO!!! I MUST WRITE MORE! Bah. Reviews make me happy! So, leave one and you'll make my day!


	16. Lay Your Burden Down

Chapter Sixteen— Lay Your Burden Down

It was the same as it had always been. No matter what happened between them, it seemed that in every aspect of their lives the two were always bound to fight for dominance. Naruto growled as Sasuke practically shoved him into the dirt. He didn't particularly mind playing aggressive, but damn, the bastard could at least _try_ and be a little nicer during foreplay. Though he had to admit that this _had_ been sudden. Earlier when he had decided to wander off he had never expected to have Sasuke sucking on his neck in such a way that managed to make him almost dizzy.

He supposed it wasn't altogether a bad thing. He could not deny that he had certainly had quite a number of dreams that went in this same direction, almost as if though copying his reality in that exact moment. "… Sasuke," the blonde groaned as his crotch was rubbed furiously by Sasuke's knee. He never would have thought that the teme's knee could be so incredibly hot. His world seemed to be spinning in different directions.

"You taste weird, dobe," Sasuke said, a hint of amusement latched onto his voice. Sasuke really had some balls to say such a thing, especially after all they had gone through. If it wasn't for the fact that he was so damned horny at the moment, he would definitely consider holding back on the sex. He tried not to smile as he managed to pull away from the attacking mouth, avoiding the next kiss that the raven would have plastered upon his lips— "Stop kissing me then, baka."

"Why do I want you so much?" Sasuke's voice was suddenly so gentle, and the raven placed a small kiss on his nose. Naruto could have sworn that butterflies were fighting all inside his stomach. Either that or he seriously needed to go barf. He had never been one to handle a romantic lover with ease— not that he had actually had many lovers in the past…damned butterflies.

"Because I'm a sex god," he joked, avoiding any serious talk and just wanting to get on with the physical play. Who wanted to talk or be romantic while in the middle of foreplay with a hard-on raging between your thighs anyway? "So are you gonna suck me off or what?" He asked, regretting the question almost immediately. His cheeks were suddenly hot and he looked away from the heated gaze that always managed to make him feel so vulnerable. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

"Is that what you want me to do?" Sasuke asked, his voice still gentle. Naruto nodded, because in all honestly that was really what he wanted. The image of his cock going in and out of that slick mouth that tasted so sweet was almost too much to handle and he groaned at the prospect of it. Sasuke leaned down and captured his lips in another kiss— and he loved the way their tongues played.

Sasuke's pale hands traveled up and down his abdomen; touching and exploring every inch of his hot skin; making him moan in pleasure. Unfortunately though, somewhere in the darkness of his mind he had managed to conjure up a scary thought: _What if he's just mocking me, playing with me?_ Was it worth it? Was it worth trusting in Sasuke once more? Was he willing to give his body away to the Uchiha only to be rejected once again in the end? Could he handle the humiliation that he would no doubt feel if Sasuke neglected him, or even worse, _left_ him afterwards? ….. But he had to see for himself, he had to take this chance— he had to see how far Sasuke was actually willing to go with him. He had to know once and for all if those feelings he had been trying so desperately to hold at bay for years were mutual.

When Sasuke's hand traveled inside his pants to cup him gently, Naruto couldn't help but tense for a moment. "You're okay with this, right?" Sasuke asked, worried that perhaps he was going to fast for the blonde. Naruto could actually see the concern in his eyes, and in all honesty, he liked it… it meant that Sasuke did care about him.

"I want you to suck me," Naruto stated firmly. He knew that perhaps Sasuke wouldn't like the idea of him taking control, but he would simply just have to suck it up and deal with it. Sasuke had put him through so much that he just simply couldn't bring himself to let him have all the power, he just couldn't let Sasuke have the lead in this, not today.

The Uchiha said nothing for long moments, and the blonde was beginning to think that perhaps he had been an idiot in insinuating that he could actually take the lead in something so complicated as sex, especially when Sasuke was a participant. But then Sasuke leaned in and nibbled lightly on his shoulder, saying nothing as he pushed down Naruto's pants. The blonde shuddered as rocks mildly scratched at his bare ass, making everything seem all the more real— he was about to get sucked off by Uchiha Sasuke in front of a lake, out in the middle of nowhere, on nothing more than wet dirt and rocks. This was something that would be embedded in his mind for the rest of his life, of that he was certain.

Sasuke pushed tanned legs apart, emitting a gasp from the withering blonde below him. His pale hand found the hard shaft between Naruto's legs and he slowly began to pump it. A light moan escaped Naruto's lips when Sasuke deliberately pinched the head of his cock, not so hard, but enough to where his eyes opened wide, and his hips bucked forward for more. He heard the Uchiha chuckle and watched in silent awe as he slowly slid his body further away from him, his mouth coming to rest only inches away from the dripping cock.

Sasuke looked up and when their eyes locked his hips bucked forward once again, making the raven smirk at him in such a way that made him want to come right then and there. "I guess I _could_ lick you," Sasuke said, his tongue slowly licking at the side of his cock, right where his sensitive vein was. "I guess I _could_ kiss it," he continued, placing small kisses along the thick shaft. Naruto thought that he would soon go crazy if Sasuke continued teasing him like this. "… And I guess I _will_ suck you," and with that, Sasuke gently brought the cock-head into his mouth, suckling gently, loving the way Naruto growled at the attentions he was giving him.

"Kami…" Naruto whispered, his hands going down and resting on dark locks of hair, guiding Sasuke down on his entire length. All coherent thoughts left as he focused completely on the insane pleasure that the ravens slick mouth was providing willingly. The heat and wetness was so immense that he knew he wouldn't last much longer, and in all honestly he didn't want to make it last; he wanted to _finally_ experience what he had been dreaming of for years.

Sasuke's hand reached up to pinch at a pink stub, causing the blonde to groan loudly and buck harder into his willing mouth. Just a bit more and he knew he would see stars… Just a bit more and he would finally have Sasuke in the palm of his hand.

The blonde let a few curse words stream out when Sasuke's mouth left his shaft and began to suckle on his balls, "Damn Sasuke… oh Kami… Take me back into your mouth… I need to come inside you." He watched as the Uchiha gave him a weird look, but obliged, taking the head back into his mouth, going _all the way down_ on him, deep throating him completely. Then something unexpected but not altogether bad happened: Sasuke's index finger found its way inside of his ass, and that was all Naruto needed to finally find his sweet release. He came hard. "Nahhhhhhhhguhhhhhh," he moaned uncontrollably as Sasuke kept pumping his ass, simultaneously swallowing Naruto's seed and pinching his nipple furiously. His heart was pounding, his breathing was uneven, and when he looked down at the smirking Sasuke who had pulled away from his softening cock, slipping his tongue out to lick away at the cum that had managed to get all over his lips, Naruto felt his heart race even faster with excitement. This had happened. This had _actually_ happened. Sasuke had _pleasured him_. He had actually brought himself down from his own self given pedestal to pleasure someone like him.

_He had his best friend back._

Sasuke climbed back up so that their faces were once more leveled, "Well that was certainly different," he said with a smirk. He leaned in and placed kiss after kiss on Naruto's lips, no tongue involved, and he was being so gentle that Naruto actually thought something might have possessed him. Then he felt it though, the hardness pressed up against his thigh. He looked down, and then Sasuke looked down… and then he knew it was his turn to give away pleasure. He looked back up into dark eyes nervously, not able to say anything at all.

Sasuke studied him for a few minutes before smiling once again, "You don't have to," he said, then chuckled as if though it were nothing. But in all honesty it didn't feel like he didn't have to, as a matter a fact he felt like a complete asshole because he knew that despite his guilt, despite knowing what it felt like to be left high and dry, he wasn't about to give him release. He wasn't ready for this to _really_ mean something to him. This was his payback. This was his revenge and he couldn't give himself away so completely to Sasuke, not yet. It didn't matter that the bastard already had his heart.

-------------------

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed as she jumped on him and hugged him as tight as she could, "Naruto Naruto Naruto!" She repeated like a mantra, sighing in relief as her blonde willingly hugged her back just as tightly. The awful pressure that had been in the pit of her stomach since the moment Ako had told them he had been kidnapped dissipated when he flashed her a sincere smile. She was so incredibly happy.

"I'm so glad you guys are okay," she said, trying to hold back tears.

"Hn, no thanks to that dobe," Sasuke said, coming up behind her, waiting for the hug he knew would be bestowed upon him as well.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shrieked and threw herself onto the Uchiha, hugging him just as tightly as she had hugged Naruto, "I'm so glad you're okay… I missed you so much!"

"Nice to see you too, Sakura," Neji said from behind the three, a hint of amusement latched onto his voice.

Sakura had been so wrapped up in Naruto and Sasuke that she hadn't even seen the Hyuuga genius crouched up against a tree behind them… but when she saw him her smile immediately went away. How could this have happened? "Neji…" She said slowly as she walked closer to the dark haired genius, eyeing the part of his body which should have had a hand attached to it. Her eyes widened when it dawned on her that this was not her imagination and Neji was indeed missing his hand. "What happened?" She asked as she went to his side immediately and went into medic-nin mode.

"We had a few problems," Neji said, obviously not wanting to talk about the situation, but relieved that he now had a medic-nin to look over his injury.

Sakura nodded and said nothing as she kneeled beside him and lifted his arm gently, frowning at the poor made bandage. She undid the bandage and frowned once more when blood began to sprout forth, "This is not good, I think there might be an infection… Here, hold your hand up," she said, and Neji did as he was told.

She took off her small back-pack and opened it, taking out a small rag and pouring a fair amount of water on it. Once she had managed to clean away most of the dried blood, she then poured a fair amount of disinfective medicine on it, just so that it wouldn't get any worse. By the time she was done she had managed to stop the wound from bleeding. She was surprised at herself that she had acted so professionally. She didn't know what to think or say; she knew by just looking at the wound that it was much too late to save the hand. He would have to live like this for the rest of his life, "Okay, this should do until we get back to Konoha," She said gently as she finished wrapping the last of the clean bandage.

"Thank you," Neji said, locking her in a gaze that made her so very uncomfortable. She felt so inadequate and so useless, but she played it off and simply nodded at him and averted her gaze back to see Jiraiya, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke having what seemed to be a serious conversation. She sighed tiredly, surely they were going over the details of what all had happened.

All she knew was that she was incredibly happy that her teammates were safe. She didn't want or even need to know the details just yet. She knew something terrible had happened because Lee wasn't there with them and he should be. But she was determined to prolong her ignorance as long as possible. She didn't need to know more bad things about her life. Too many things were already wrong with her life. She didn't need to find out that one of her closest friends was now gone forever. She turned to look at Neji and sighed once again when she noticed that he had closed his eyes now, leaning against the tree comfortably. She packed up her supplies and found herself a sturdy tree to settle herself down on as she closed her eyes tiredly. If Lee really was gone, she'd find out for sure sooner or later, and if there was anything else she needed to know about the mission, she knew they'd make sure to tell her. She was in no hurry.

"How are you feeling?"

Sakura knew that voice, it belonged to the one she had been so afraid of losing. She opened her eyes and grinned up at the blonde, "I'm just a bit tired," she admitted. Naruto nodded and took a seat beside her, and she couldn't help but wonder when it was that he had forgiven her. She had been so surprised that he had hugged her back when she practically jumped on him. Though she wasn't ignorant, she knew that things weren't quite fixed just yet, it might have been his initial happiness at seeing her, but she was pretty certain that she wasn't off the hook just yet.

"You know, there's a lake nearby… I'm not sure blood brings out the color of your eyes," Naruto said, a goofy grin on his handsome face. For a moment she was just perplexed, but then Naruto's eyes averted down to her hands that were covered in Neji's blood and she realized what he meant.

She smiled, getting that warm feeling in her chest that her blonde always managed to make her feel, "Yeah, I'll go wash off before we leave."

Naruto nodded and said nothing more, simply closing his eyes as he leaned his head against the tree. He was so beautiful that she couldn't help but stare at him. How could she have been so stupid? How was it that she had actually let things get to the point where she had almost lost him? She would fix things though. She would declare her love to both Sasuke and Naruto and she would beat the living daylights out of them if they didn't accept that they belonged together. They were a team. They had always belonged together… she simply couldn't see a future without them.

"Stop staring… its uncomfortable," Naruto said, opening a blue eye.

"Naruto…" She didn't want to ruin the moment, but she knew that things had to be talked out, "… we have to talk about us."

At that the blonde sighed and opened both his eyes. He looked briefly at Sasuke and then back at her, which wasn't really all that odd. In fact, thinking about it more clearly, this conversation should be had with the three of them present. It shouldn't be just her and Naruto, it should be the three of them. They all had things they wanted to say, and she was going to make damn sure that everything was said once and for all.

"Now?" Naruto asked, seeming rather nervous at the prospect, and she could honestly understand why.

"Now. With Sasuke," she said, looking towards the Uchiha and mentally sighing. He was going to be the hardest to convince, she was sure of that. But she be damned if she was going to give up so easily.

"Alright then, we can go to the lake and talk in private, looks like Jiraiya is done questioning him anyways," The blonde said as he got up and walked towards the Uchiha.

Sakura just hoped that they wouldn't turn her away. She hoped that they would accept their destiny, because really, they were destined for each other. They were meant to be together, and if they gave her any problems whatsoever, she would beat them to a bloody pulp.

-------------------------------

"So talk," Sasuke said, sounding rather bored as he looked at Sakura with inquiry.

Yeah, so she had been the one to suggest they talk, and yeah, she _had_ wanted to confess her feelings to the both of them… but having a fidgety blonde and the usual asshole of an Uchiha in front of her kind of made her want to take it all back and just go along with the flow like she always did. She was at a loss for words and she didn't know what to say. Would they reject her? Would they think she was insane for wanting this deformed thing that they had going on to work out as a relationship? Would Sasuke even want to be her boyfriend again after she confessed?

"I… just… we were so mad at each other before…" That had absolutely nothing to do with what she really wanted to talk about, but she figured that it was a start. I mean seriously, you can't blame a girl when she's under such pressure!

Naruto sighed loudly and sat himself on a large rock a few feet away from the lake, and in the scenery, surrounded by so many beautiful trees, she thought he looked gorgeous. "Really, after what happened today I don't think I can afford to be mad anymore," the blonde said as he looked over at Sasuke.

The odd thing wasn't really the words that made no sense whatsoever, the odd thing was that when he smirked at Sasuke, she could have sworn the raven actually _blushed_, "What do you mean?" She asked, officially lost.

"I mean… I forgive you guys," Naruto smiled widely.

Then Sasuke laughed, "Forgive me? Baka… I didn't do anything wrong, in fact _I_ forgive you," he dropped himself onto the floor.

Well this was certainly going easier than she had expected, at least they weren't breaking out into a fight like she had thought they would, "Wow… well you're not pissed, that's good to know," She tried to play it off like it was nothing, tried to act cool like they seemed to be acting. It was hard to register in her mind that everything was okay though— when had everything suddenly become okay? Obviously something had happened before she had arrived; obviously they had come to amends without her… which didn't make anything easier. In fact, it definitely made things all the more difficult for her to say now, because now it seemed like they were hiding something from her.

"We have to tell her Sasuke, she looks so lost," Naruto said, chuckling at Sakura's expense. Sakura narrowed her eyes, not at all liking the idea that they were keeping something important from her.

"You realize she'll probably freak," Sasuke's voice sounded bored, and he actually leaned all the way back onto the floor, resting his weight on his elbows as he looked lazily to the clouds. He was acting so causal that she felt like beating him up just to make a point.

"Yeah but do you see the sweat forming on her eyebrow—"

"Enough!" She yelled, clenching her fists, "Someone tell me what the fuck you guys are talking about right now because if you don't then I'll just bypass the idea of talking and go straight to beating the shit out of you guys!" Maybe she had overreacted a tad bit, but she really didn't like being in the dark, and they were talking about her as if though she wasn't even there!

Though now she had the issue of them staring at her with weird looks on their faces… okay so maybe it was Naruto that had the weird look on his face, Sasuke just looked completely bored with the whole ordeal like usual. "What's going on?" She asked, taking on a more serious tone.

Naruto sighed, looked at Sasuke, who simply nodded, then looked her straight in the eyes and said, "Sasuke and I… well, we sorta kinda got _together_ and I mean that in a 'lover' kind of way… and now we want to be together with you, and I mean that in the 'lover' kind of way too," he had a grin on his face, almost as if though he were expecting her to be completely willing… which don't get her wrong, she was. She _so_ was. But that didn't change the fact that she was shocked beyond belief!

"Wha… What?" She asked as she took a few steps towards the sitting blonde. She had to make sure she understood exactly what it was that he was implying because it sounded way too good to be true. "What does that mean…?"

"It means, Sakura, that he still wants you. It means that _I_ still want you. It means that if this is going to work, we're going to be the weird team that fucks whenever they're horny. It means that I don't want to lose you or him… but most importantly, it means that you have to decided what it is you want."

Sakura had to admit that it was weird hearing those words come from the usually uncaring Uchiha. She looked into his eyes and she knew then that he wasn't playing a horrible joke on her; she knew he was dead serious. "I thought I was gonna have to beat you guys into the next world to make you understand…" She said, letting a sincere smile take over her face. She walked up to Naruto and threw her arms around him, "I was so scared of losing you."

Naruto hugged her back, and when she began pulling away, he captured her in a breathtaking kiss. A kiss she feared she would never again experience, "You're mine now, and I'm not gonna let you get away," he said with a goofy grin, "the bastard's just gonna have to fight if he wants a turn with you."

"Hn, baka," Sasuke said from behind them, but Sakura knew that they were far from being angry.

---- End Chapter---

AN: I know some people are wondering what the deal was with the blow job, right? It wasn't the blow job in itself that was the issue- it was the fact that Naruto demanded it… and the fact that Sasuke was doing everything NARUTO wanted him to do— ALL FOR NARUTO'S pleasure, not his own. In a way, it was a form of apology for everything Sasuke put him through in the past. So no mean remarks cuz I thought it was super sweet! smiles happy

... Alsoooooooo, I know I said my friend would help me beta this but I kinda sorta decided to just do this on my own since This really is almost finished (And I had a whole week for spring break to work on it). I estimate a total of maybe 4 more chapters before I wrap this baby up and call it finished (I think... I could be wrong though). :D Please be a sport and review cuz it makes me happy!— really really really really happy:D


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